including soils derived from quartz (sand), limestone, and basalt; it favours neutral soils (pH of 6–7.4). Pollen grains are approximately 70 microns in diameter. Uses The heartwood of the Portia tree is dark reddish brown to chocolate brown and has a specific gravity of 0.55 to 0.89. Portia tree is known as milo or miro in Polynesian languages. It is popular in Hawaii for woodworking (commonly turned into bowls) because of the range of colours expressed (tan, through yellow, to red). The trees were regarded as sacred in Polynesian culture, and were commonly planted in marae sites along with trees like Ficus, Fagraea berteroana, Casuarina equisetifolia and Calophyllum inophyllum. Traditionally it was planted in sacred groves and used for religious sculpture throughout eastern Polynesia. In Tahiti, Milo wood is used in the making of the to'ere (slotted wooden drum), used in traditional Tahitian tribal drumming. Makoi was used for the rongorongo tablets of Easter Island. Since the advent of aluminium-hulled boats in the 20th century, Pitcairners have made regular trips to Henderson Island to harvest miro wood. Usually they venture to Henderson only once per year, but may make up to three trips if the weather is favourable. Pitcairners carve the wood into curios, from which they derive much of their income. In New Ireland, Portia wood is used to make hourglass drums. In Tonga, its bark is used to treat mouth infections among infants, and its wood is used to make canoes, house parts, and artwork. In South Asia, it is used to make the thavil, a Carnatic musical instrument of South India. The flower of the Portia tree played a part in Sri Lanka's independence movement, when it was sold on Remembrance Day by the Suriya-Mal Movement instead of the poppy to aid Sri Lankan ex-servicemen. The wood from the tree was used by early Tamil people to make instruments in ancient Tamilakam. It can be used for the cellulose production from the plants [Singh et al 2019]. In some parts of the world, such as Hawaii and southern India, T. populnea is considered an important species in habitat restoration projects for coastal dry forests. See also Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia References Further reading External links Images on Wikipedia commons populnea Plants described in 1807 Flora of Africa Flora of Micronesia Flora of the Northern Mariana Islands Flora of Guam Flora of Oceania Flora of temperate