Palaquium stellatum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Palaquium stellatum King & Gamble

Protologue: Journ. As. Soc. Beng. pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 74(2): 198 (1905).

Synonyms

• Bassia watsoni Ridley (1923),
• Madhuca watsoni (Ridley) H.J. Lam (1925).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: balam seminai (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: bitis bukit, putat bukit (Peninsular).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and the Riau Archipelago.

Uses

The timber is used as bitis. It is used for planks in house building, but also for beams and posts. The fruit is edible, and the seeds yield a fat used as vegetable butter. The latex may be used as gutta-percha.

Observations

• A very large tree up to 60 m tall, with bole up to 2.5 m in diameter and large plank buttresses.
• Leaves densely clustered at tip of twigs, obovate to elliptical, with slender but distinct, transverse tertiary veins, glabrous on both sides except midrib which is usually finely hairy on both sides.
• Flowers in 3-6-flowered clusters usually at ends of twigs, borne on 12-22 mm long pedicels, white.
• Fruit ellipsoid or subglobose, 2-2.5 cm long, hairy but glabrescent, green.

P. stellatum is an uncommon tree of low altitudes, usually below 300 m. The timber is heavy with a density of 820-1050 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

102, 190, 318, 581, 699, 743, 779.

Main genus page

• Palaquium (Timbers)

Authors

• R.H.M.J. Lemmens (selection of species)