Wrightia arborea (Dennst.) Mabb.

Mentaos (Wrightia arborea) is a tree up to 20 meters tall from the Apocynaceae family distributed from India to Thailand. The Muna tribe of Sulawesi has used mentaos for generations to treat cataracts and as a postpartum care remedy. Its wood is also economically valuable for construction, pencils, and carving.

Mentaos is generally found growing in deciduous forest, shrublands, often along rivers, on sandy or rocky soil, up to elevations of 1,650 m asl. Prefers moist, well-drained soil, with a soil pH degree in the range of 5.5-7, and tolerating a pH of 5-7.5. Grows well in a position in full sun as well as in partial shade. Its growth is also suited to areas where the mean annual daytime temperature is in the range of 22-32°C, but can tolerate 5-45°C, and mean annual rainfall in the range of 1,200-2,400 mm, but tolerates 900-3,800 mm. In general, mentaos can tolerate drought conditions fairly well.

• Roots a branching taproot, elongated and cylindrical, whitish brown, the root's terminal section bearing thin true rootlets.
• Stem cylindrical, straight, sometimes bent, without buttress roots but often fluted at the base; bark surface longitudinally cracked, bark surface grayish to yellowish brown, inner bark grainy or fibrous, yellow, exuding milky sap. Hairless or puberulous, with elliptic lenticels, white or grayish.
• Leaves green, elliptic to ovate or broadly oblong shaped, apex acuminate, base acute, tomentose (finely wool-like hairy) on both sides, arrangement opposite, petiolate, veins pinnate with 10-15 pairs of secondary veins. The petiole bears few to many pectinate glands in its axil.
• Flowers actinomorphic (radial symmetry), bisexual, usually fragrant, with 5 pale yellowish, pink or reddish petals, corolla with a cylindrical to campanulate tube, tube length 3-7 mm, lobe length 8-16 mm. Calyx very deeply divided, lobes imbricate. Stamens located within the mouth of the corolla tube. Inflorescence terminal or axillary.
• Fruit consisting of a pair of pendulous follicles, complete or fused only at the very base, terete or compressed, splitting entirely along the adaxial suture.
• Seeds numerous per follicle, narrowly fusiform, with a basal tuft of hairs, embryo upright, cotyledons broad and convoluted.

Propagation is done generatively using seed.

Conessine dihydrate, holarrhine, kurchicine, alkaloids, flavonoids, phlobatannins, phenolics, tannins, β-sitosterol, lupeol, α-amyrin, glycoflavones-iso-orientin, isoflavones, wrightiadione, phenolic acids, saponins, steroids, terpenoids.

Helps treat menstrual complaints and kidney complaints, kidney stones, an antidote to snake bites and scorpion stings, relieves fever, dysentery, toothache, diarrhea, headaches, eye diseases such as cataracts, heals uterine wounds, can expel unclean blood, and speeds up postpartum recovery, acts as an expectorant. Has antipyretic, antibacterial, diaphoretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activity.

Benteli lalaki (Java), Bintaos (Sunda), Soliti (Sulawesi).