Urceola brachysepala (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Urceola brachysepala Hook.f.

Protologue: Apocynaceae

Synonyms

Urceola imberbis (Elmer) Merr., U. maingayi Hook.f., U. philippinensis Merr.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: akar gerip putih (Malay), gembor (Sundanese), serapat hitam (West Kalimantan). Peninsular Malaysia: akar gerit jantan
• Philippines: hinggiu-kalabau, dugtong-ahas (Tagalog).

Distribution

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan), Brunei, the Philippines.

Uses

The latex present in the bark of the stem makes a good kind of rubber. Formerly this latex was collected in Indonesia by making cuts in the bark. The latex was mixed with that of other species and made into rubber.

Observations

A big, woody, extremely variable climber containing white to yellowish latex; twigs glabrous to densely puberulent. Leaves opposite; petiole up to 3 cm long; blade ovate to elliptical, 2-22 cm × 1-13 cm, 1-3 times as long as wide, base cuneate to subcordate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary cymose panicle 1-12 cm long; flowers 5-merous, bisexual; corolla tubular, tube 1-2 mm long, lobes valvate in bud, urceolate and greenish-white when open, about 1 mm long and wide. Fruit a pair of follicles, each follicle linear to fusiform, 7-27 cm × 3-10 mm. Seed flattened ellipsoid, 8-15 mm × 1-3 mm, coma 2-5 cm long, pointing towards the end of the fruit. U. brachysepala occurs in widely differing habitats from cliffs to primary forest or swamp forest, up to 1000 m altitude. In an experimental plantation in Indonesia plants 8 years old produced about 25 g rubber when tapped like para rubber trees. Elsewhere in Indonesia, plants with stem diameter of about 10 cm were said to produce 300 g rubber by carving the stem; sometimes the whole stem is cut into sections about 30 cm long and the exuded coagulated latex at the ends is collected.

Selected sources

11, 23, 27, 33, 42.