Sal: Encyclopedia - Sal

Sal

Sal (Shorea robusta) is an important tree of South Asia. Sal ranges south of the Himalayas, from Myanmar in the east through India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In India it extends from Assam, Bengal and Jharkhand west to Haryana's Shivalik Hills, east of the Yamuna. Sal's range also extends through the Eastern Ghats and to the eastern Vindhya and Satpura ranges of central India. It is often the dominant tree in the forests where it occurs.

Sal is moderate to slow growing, and can attain heights of 30 to 35 meters.

In wetter areas, sal trees keep their leaves all year long; in drier areas, sal trees shed most of their leaves in between February to April, leafing out again in April and May.

Sal is one of the most important sources of hardwood timber in India, with hard, coarse-grained wood that is light in color when freshly cut, and becoming dark brown with exposure. The wood is resinous and durable, and is sought after for construction, although not well suited to planing and polishing.

Sal resin is burned as incense in Hindu ceremonies, and sal seeds and fruit are a source of lamp oil and vegetable fat.

Category: Malvales

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Sal", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki