Gen info
- Called the Queen of Flowering Trees or Pride of Burma.
- Named after Lady Amherst, wife of a British governor of India.
- Used as floral offerings in Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka and Burma.

Botany
Amherstia is a medium-sized tree with large showy flowers. Leaves are compound, with 6 to 8 large leaflets, broadly oblong and pallid underneath. Flowers hung from long pendulous clusters. scarlet and dotted with saffron yellow accents. Leaves when young are reddish purple; large mature leaves have white undersides. Fruits are scimitar-shaped pods,11 to 20 centimeters long, with a woody outer case that opens to disperse the seeds.

Distribution
- Native of Burma.
- Introduced in the Philippines before WW II.
- Ornamental cultivation.
- Rare in the wild.
- Considered nearly endangered due to over-harvesting and difficulty of cultivation. (4)

Constituents
- GC-MS analysis of ethanolic leaf extract yielded 27 chemical compounds. Major constituents were phenol, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl), eicosane, tetradecanoic acid, 3-heptadecanol, neophytadiene, phytol. (see study below) (3)

Properties
- Understudied.
- Unable to produce seeds to develop into true offspring. Difficult to propagate by seedlings. The alternative method is air-layering. (4)
- Studies have suggested antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties.

Parts used
Leaves

Uses
Edibility
- Young leaves and flowers reported as edible.
Folkloric
- No reported medicinal use in the Philippines.

Studies
• Antibacterial / Leaves: Study evaluated the antibacterial effect of 70% ethanol extract of leaves of Amherstia nobilis using disc diffusion method in Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli. Results showed maximum zone of inhibition against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. (see constituents above (3)
• Silver Nanoparticles / Anti-Marine Biofilm / Leaves: Study reports on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Amherstia nobilis leaf extract and evaluated the synthesized NPs for anti-marine biofilm activity. Results showed the NPs were effective against biofilm formation of microbes such as marine B. subtilis and marine E. coli.(5)

Availability
- Cultivated.
- Plants in the cybermarket.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Amherstia nobilis / The Plant
(3)
GC-MS analysis and antibacterial activity of Amherstia nobilis. W leaf extract / TJ Jasna, Dr Sreedharren / International Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2018; 6(6): pp 101-105 / Corpus ID: 210115494
(4)
Pride Of Burma Information : How To Grow A Pride Of Burma Tree / Bonnie L Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist
(5)
EFFECT OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED USING AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT OF AMHERSTIA NOBILIS ON MARINE BIOFILMS / Meenakshi K., Pracheta Salunkhe and Indu A.G./ Plant Archiv, 2018; Vol 18, No 1: pp 251-256 / ISSN: 0972-5210

                                                                          DOI
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