Aglaia sapindina (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Aglaia sapindina (F. v. Mueller) Harms

Protologue: Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(4): 298 (1896).

Synonyms

Aglaia ermischii Warb. (1891), Aglaia novaguineensis (C.DC.) C.DC. (1903), Aglaia rudolfi Harms (1942).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: luka luka ma (Moluccas).

Distribution

The Moluccas and New Guinea to the Solomon Islands and northern Australia.

Uses

The wood is used.

Observations

A small to medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall, bole branchless for up to 18 m, up to 75 cm in diameter, buttresses up to 2 m high, bark surface greenish-brown, greyish-brown or reddish-brown, inner bark pink or white; leaflets (3-)5-9, subopposite, with 8-20 pairs of secondary veins, smooth and glabrous above, below pitted on the veins and there with few tonumerous pale brown to reddish-brown peltate scales having a fimbriate margin, sometimes few of these scales on the intervenal parts; calyx 5(-6)-lobed, petals 5, anthers 5, style-head ovoid with 2 small apical lobes; fruit indehiscent, 2-locular. A. sapindina is common, occurring in primary and secondary forest, in riverine forest, swamps, along rivers and the beach, on limestone or sandy clay with granite, from sea-level up to 3800 m altitude. In Papua New Guinea, it is a tree of the understorey and does not reach the canopy. The density of the wood is about 530 kg/m³at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

12, 232, 282, 330, 481.