Canarium megalanthum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Canarium megalanthum Merr.

Protologue: Philipp. Journ. Sci., Bot. 30: 81 (1926).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: kedondong keruing (Peninsular), mantus tikus (Sabah).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Uses

The wood is used as kedondong and reported to be hard. C. megalanthum is cultivated in Brunei for its edible fruits which are amongst the largest in the genus. The resin has been used for torches.

Observations

A medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 40 m tall, bole up to 80 cm in diameter, sometimes with buttresses up to 1 m high, bark surface flaky and lenticellate, brown, with white and black resin, inner bark laminated, reddish-brown, with clear resin; stipules subpersistent or sometimes caducous, inserted on the petiole or less often down to the twig, deeply 3-4-lobed; leaves with (7-)9-11 leaflets, rachis minutely tomentose, channelled above, leaflets gradually to distinctly shortly acuminate at apex, margin entire or sometimes serrulate near the top, powdery hairy, with (10-)13-19 pairs of secondary veins which are raised below; inflorescence terminal to pseudoterminal, paniculate to narrowly paniculate; male flowers 11 mm long, female ones 13-15 mm long, stamens 6; fruit ellipsoid, sometimes acute, bluntly triangular in cross-section, 50-55 mm × 35-40 mm, tomentose, especially near the apex. C. megalanthum is locally common in lowland rain forest and on ridges, up to 350 m altitude. The density of the wood is 625-770 kg/m³at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

9, 77, 99, 162, 342, 366, 463, 465, 705.