Difference between revisions of "Palaquium gutta (PROSEA)"

Revision as of 17:01, 9 February 2016

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Palaquium gutta (Hook.f.) Baillon

Protologue: Traité bot. méd. phan., Add.: 1500 (1884).

Synonyms

Palaquium acuminatum Burck (1886), Palaquium oblongifolium (Burck) Burck (1886), Croixia gutta (Hook.f.) Baehni (1965).

Vernacular names

• Gutta-percha tree (En)
• Indonesia: suntek (Java), balam abang (Sumatra), getah merah (Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: taban merah, nyatoh taban merah (Peninsular), nyatoh rian (Sarawak)
• Thailand: chik-nom (Ranong, Satun), saeo (Phatthalung).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo; cultivated elsewhere, e.g. in Java.

Uses

The timber is used as nyatoh, for planks (not exposed to the weather or ground), and furniture. The latex gives the best grade of gutta-percha. The seeds contain a fat used for the manufacture of soap and candles, and sometimes for cooking.

Observations

A medium-sized to large tree up to 45 m tall, but generally much smaller (c. 25 m) with columnar bole up to 60 cm in diameter and usually small buttresses; leaves clustered at tip of twigs or evenly distributed, obovate, ovate, elliptical or narrowly elliptical, with transverse or reticulate tertiary veins (sometimes parallel to secondary veins), distinct or inconspicuous, golden-brownish velvety beneath; flowers in 2-7(-10)-flowered clusters, borne on 2-9(-12) mm long pedicels, whitish-green or yellowish; fruit globose, ellipsoid or ovoid, 2-3.5 cm long, finely hairy and green. P. gutta is a variable species, especially in its leaves. It occurs scattered in lowland forest, but sometimes up to 1600 m altitude (Sabah). The timber is fairly heavy for nyatoh, with a density of 610-910 kg/m³at 15% moisture content, and often shows attractive patterns. Gutta-percha can be obtained by tapping the bark or by extraction from the leaves; it is often blended with gutta-percha of inferior quality from other Sapotaceae species. The seeds contain 58-63% fat. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

35, 36, 89, 100, 102, 190, 255, 315, 318, 322, 451, 461, 581, 730, 743, 779, 792.