Canarium vrieseanum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Canarium vrieseanum Engl.

Family: Burseraceae

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: are, solo (Sulawesi)
• Philippines: gisau (Sulu), gapug (Subanun), sagasa (Manobo).

Distribution

Indonesia (Sulawesi) and the Philippines (Mindanao, Luzon).

Uses

The seeds are edible. The resin is burnt for light. The wood is rather tough and hard and used for construction.

Observations

• Tree, up to 31 m tall and trunk 45 cm in diameter, sometimes buttressed.
• Leaves 3-7-jugate.
• Infructescences 10-45 cm long with ca. 5-10 fruits.
• Fruit an ovoid drupe, 2-3 cm × 1-2 cm, more or less velvety, containing 1 seed.

In primary and secondary forests, up to 500 m altitude. Three forms are distinguished:

• f. vrieseanum (Sulawesi, slender tree, leaves 3-5-jugate),
• f. williamsii (C. B. Robinson) Leenh. (Mindanao, stouter tree, leaves 6-7-jugate, fruiting richer), and
• f. stenophyllum Leenh. (Mindanao, Davao Province, stout tree, many-jugate leaves, small fruits).

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 19511957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 19411943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines.

• 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