fbpx

KidsKonnect

Narra Tree Facts & Worksheets

Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) is a large deciduous reddish hardwood tree that is native to most Asian countries.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Science /Natural World /Narra Tree Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Narra Tree Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) is a large deciduous reddish hardwood tree that is native to most Asian countries. Widely introduced due to its many uses, the narra was declared the national tree of the Philippines in 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.

See the fact file below for more information on the Narra Tree or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Narra Tree worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

TAXONOMY AND NOMENCLATURE

  • The family Fabaceae is among the largest groups of flowering plants, which includes 766 genera and 19,500 species growing in a broad array of climates and habitats.
  • Its genus, Pterocarpus, from the Greek word pteran meaning ‘a wing’ and karpos meaning ‘fruit’, houses 60 species scattered throughout the tropical regions.
  • The narra is widely distributed and has abundant morphological and ecological diversity throughout its sphere.
  • Some intraspecific variations include morphological features of leaflet, flower, and fruit size and shape.
  • In 1972, Rojo recognized its two forms – forma indicus with smooth fruits and forma echinatus with short prickles. However, some scientists suggest the forms are of the same species.

DESCRIPTION

  • The narra reaches an average height of 25 to 35 meters, with a trunk that extends up to 2 meters in diameter. Its leaves are 12 to 22 cm long, pinnate, with 5 to 11 leaflets, and the girth is 12 to 34 meters wide.
  • In the Philippines, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula, the narra blooms from February to May. Its flowers, with a panicle type of inflorescence, are 6 to 13 cm long, slightly fragrant, and display yellow or orange-yellow petals.
  • Its fruit is a semi-orbicular pod that is 2 to 3 cm in diameter and covered by a flat wing-like structure that is 4 to 6 cm in diameter.
  • It has one or two seeds and does not open at adulthood. It ripens as it reaches four to six years old and turns purple when dry. The nucleus of the pod can be smooth, bristly, or intermediate.
  • Unlike the majority of Pterocarpus species, which chose to live in regions with seasonal climates, the P. indicus thrives in rainforests.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

  • The narra is commonly found in primary, and in some areas, secondary forests at low and medium altitudes throughout the Philippines.
  • It is endemic to tropical and temperate Asia and Malaysia and to the north and southwest Pacific zones. This tree is also cultivated and naturalized in Central and South America, the Caribbean Africa, Asia, and on some Pacific islands, such as Guam, Hawaii, Fiji, and Samoa.
  • Within its natural habitat, the narra prefers to grow by the sea and along tidal creeks and rivers through seeds and cuttings.
  • It can also be seen emerging in open forests, slopes, coastal forests, seasonal swamps, and rocky shores, and it is also propagated in villages and gardens.

USES

  • Productive uses and management. The narra is a commercial species with a number of uses, often seen as an ornamental and shade tree. It is also grown to create a borderline and windbreak around food croplands due to its nitrogen-rich leaf fall and living fences around pastures.
  • Economic value. The narra is acknowledged as an excellent timber in southern Asia and is categorized as one of the most beneficial timbers in the Philippines. Its wood is used for a lot of products, such as cabinetry, cart wheels, carving, construction, furniture, and musical instruments.
  • Social benefit. It is believed to be an effective traditional Asian medicine. Malaysians use narra to treat sores of the mouth, bladder, ailments, diarrhea, dropsy, headache, and syphilis. Javanese cover areas that suffer from boils, prickly heat, and ulcers. Filipinos make narra extract into herbal teas and pills to treat a number of diseases and ailments, such as leprosy, menstrual pain, flu, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes. While the narra is used for tuberculosis, headaches, sores, and as a purgative in Papua New Guinea, it also acts as medicine for dysentery, menorrhagia, and gonorrhea in the Solomon Islands.
  • Environmental services. Its flowers are a significant source of nectar and/or pollen for bees. Within its geographical distribution, the narra can also stabilize the soil in those regions.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

  • Immune enhancing/anti-asthma. Its root, bark, and wood make up the pharmaceutical formulation that has immune enhancing properties and is allegedly used to stop and treat asthma.
  • Polyphenolic antiplasmin constituent/anti-cancer. This substance was extracted from the bark of a narra, showing a carcinostatic effect on ascitic mice with Ehrlich tumors.
  • Anti-termite. Studies suggest the use of wood extractives as a preservative treatment for wood to prevent subterranean termite activity.
  • Some extracts of leaves, roots, and stem barks of narra were tested for antibacterial activity. All samples showed a wide variety of antibacterial activity, more noticed in the butanol and methanol factions.

Narra Tree Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Narra Tree across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Narra Tree worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) which is a large deciduous reddish hardwood tree that is native to most Asian countries. Widely introduced due to its many uses, the narra was declared the national tree of the Philippines in 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Narra Tree Facts
  • What About Narra?
  • Facts Only
  • Tree Uses
  • Narra Wiki
  • What Tree?
  • Ode to Narra
  • Other Native Trees
  • Let’s Go Traditional
  • Save the Forests
  • Tale of the Narra

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Narra Tree Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 15, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources