Antiaris

Antiaris is a genus in the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is a monotypic genus, i.e. it contains only one species, namely Antiaris toxicaria. The genus was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded as just one variable species which can be further divided into five subspecies. One significant difference within the species is that the size of the fruit decreases as one travels from Africa to Polynesia. Antiaris has a remarkably wide distribution in tropical regions, occurring in Australia, tropical Asia, tropical Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Tonga, and various other tropical islands. Its seeds are spread by various birds and bats, and it is not clear how many of the populations are essentially invasive. The species is of interest as a source of wood, bark cloth, and pharmacological or toxic substances.

==Naming and etymology== The generic epithet Antiaris is derived directly from the Javanese name for it: ancar (obsolete Dutch-era spelling: antjar). Some of the better known synonyms include: Antiaris africana, Antiaris macrophylla and Antiaris welwitschii. thumb|Antiaris toxicaria leaves on twig thumb|Coppice, showing young bark In English it may be called bark cloth tree, antiaris, false iroko, false mvule or upas tree, and in the Javanese language it is known as the upas (meaning 'poison' in Javanese) or ancar. In the Indonesian language it is known as bemu. In the related official language of the Philippines, Filipino, upas, and in Malaysia's Malaysian language as ipoh or ancar. In Cambodia, it's called choer banh or choer chhâk (ជ័រឆក់ ជ័របាញ់). In Thai it is the ยางน่อง (yangnong). In Mandinka, it is the jafo and in Wolof the kan or man. In Coastal Kenya, it is called mnguonguo by the Giriama.