Canarium indicum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Canarium indicum L.

Family: Burseraceae

Synonyms

• Canarium amboinense Hochr.,
• C. commune L.,
• C. moluccanum Blume,
• C. zephyrinum Rumphius.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: kenari ambon (Sundanese), jal (Ambon), kanari bagéa (Moluccas)
• Papua New Guinea: galip (Pidgin), lawele (New Britain), hinuei (New Ireland).

Distribution

Indonesia (Sulawesi, Moluccas, Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and surrounding islands. It is often cultivated, especially in Melanesia.

Uses

In Melanesia the seeds are highly esteemed as a food. Oil from the seeds is used as a substitute for coconut oil. The wood is soft and mainly used as firewood.

Observations

• Tree, up to 40 m tall and trunk 1 m in diameter, with buttresses.
• Leaves 3-7-jugate. Infructescences large with up to 30 fruits.
• Fruit an ovoid drupe, 3-6 cm × 2-3 cm, round to slightly triangular in cross-section.
• Seed usually 1.

In low altitude rain forests, but cultivated up to 600 m. Flowering mainly from October to December, fruiting from July to December. Var. platycerioideum Leenh. (occurring in Irian Jaya), differs in having larger leaves and larger fruits.

Selected sources

• van Steenis, C.G.G.J. et al. (Editors), 1950-. Flora Malesiana. Series 1. Vol. 1, 4-10. Centre for Research and Development in Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, and Rijksherbarium, Leiden, the Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen