Canarium pilosum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Canarium pilosum Bennett

Family: Burseraceae

Synonyms

• Canarium grandiflorum Bennett.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: damar kunang, medang serababa (Sumatra), damar lilin (Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: kejam penggeli, kedondong kerut (Peninsular), keramoh batu (Sarawak).

Distribution

Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan), Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak), Brunei.

Uses

The seeds are edible, sweet. The wood is durable against insects and is used for building houses. The resin is used to close wounds.

Observations

• Tree, up to 37 m tall and trunk 65 cm in diameter, sometimes with buttresses.
• Leaves 1-6-jugate.
• Infructescences up to 10 cm long, with 1-4(-8) fruits crowded near the top.
• Fruit an oblongoid to ovoid drupe, 2-3 cm × 1-1.5 cm, rounded triangular in cross-section, glabrous, containing 1 seed usually.

Two subspecies are distinguished: ssp. pilosum (as described here), and ssp. borneensis Leenh. (smaller tree, leaves 0-5-jugate, fruits larger, ellipsoid, 4-4.5 cm × 1.5 cm, occurring only on Borneo). In forests, up to 1500 m altitude. Main flowering-fruiting period is September-October.

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