THE ANGSANA is among the many species of trees planted by the British during their colonial era in Penang. According to this report by The Star, out of the thousands of trees planted by them, only some 500 are still around. These were set along Macalister Road, Kelawei Road and Northam Road (Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah). Very interestingly, the Macalister Road row was lined by Charles Curtis, curator of the Penang Botanic Gardens in the late 19th century. Read here for more on Penang Botanic Gardens.

Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus) is a large deciduous tree of up to 30 to 40 m tall and 2 m in diameter. It has a dense, wide spreading, dome-shaped crown with drooping lower branches. The trunk is buttressed and the bark is smooth and grey-brown, becoming scaly and fissured with age. When cut or slashed, dark red resin oozes out. The wood varies in colour from light yellow to golden brown to reddish brown, and has a camphor or cedar scent (Wikipedia). Upon close inspection of the trees, especially the older ones, one cannot help but notice how closely their mangled and contorted trunks resemble the rough rocky surface of a cave interior. View slideshow below for pictures of the tree and its trunk.

First planted in Malacca in 1778, subsequently through a more systematic planting strategy, it was brought up to Penang in 1802. Soon, due to the beauty of its “spreading crown and ease of propagation” (Sreetheran, Philip, Adnan and Zakiah, 2006), it lined almost every important promenade from Penang to Singapore. Unfortunately, due to a spread of an unknown disease around 1908 in Penang, many infected trees had to be removed in order to contain the spread. Read here and here for more on the history of the Angsana in Malaysia.

During their blooming period, (in March and July), the Angsana lined roads are a sight to behold with the many shaded yellow flowers dotting the tree crown.

Reference

Sreetheran A, Philip E, Adnan M and Zakiah M.S, 2006, A historical perspective of urban tree planting in Malaysia, Unasylva (FAO), Vol 57, No 223, pg 28-33