Cotylelobium melanoxylon (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cotylelobium melanoxylon (Hook.f.) Pierre ex Heim

Protologue: Rech. Dipt.: 120 (1892).

Synonyms

• Cotylelobium beccarii Pierre (1891),
• Cotylelobium harmandii Heim (1892),
• Vatica leucocarpa Foxw. ex den Berger & Endert (1925).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: resak hitam
• Indonesia: giam tembaga, resak tembaga (general), resak daun lebar (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: resak (Peninsular), resak hitam (Sarawak), resak tempurong (Sabah)
• Thailand: khiam daeng, khiam dam, khiam khaao (peninsular).

Distribution

Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Uses

The timber is used as resak, especially for construction, house posts and boats. The bark is used locally to prevent frothing in sweet palm juice and to arrest fermentation of toddy and local wine.

Observations

• A medium-sized to large tree up to 50 m tall, bole frequently twisted, branchless for up to 30 m and up to 160 cm in diameter.
• Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 5-10 cm × 2-6 cm, the margin slightly revolute, lower surface glabrescent, the intramarginal vein at about 2 mm from the margin
• 2 larger fruit calyx lobes up to 4.5 cm × 1.5 cm.

C. melanoxylon prefers dry, often sandy or loamy soils and moist podzols, and often occurs near the coast, up to 300 m altitude. The density of the wood is 830-1155 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

30, 89, 100, 258, 382, 425, 450, 462, 578, 628, 677, 739, 748.

Main genus page

• Cotylelobium

Authors

• C. Niyomdham