Calophyllum pulcherrimum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Calophyllum pulcherrimum Wallich ex Choisy

Protologue: Mém. Guttif. Inde: 41 (1849).

• Indonesia: bintangur onjem (Sumatra), mentangur perit (Bangka)
• Malaysia: bintangor gasing (Peninsular).

Peninsular Malaysia, southern Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung and Borneo (Kalimantan, Sarawak).

The timber is used as bintangor, particularly for poles, fishing stakes, masts and keels of boats. The fruit is edible but sour.

• A medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall with bole up to 45 cm in diameter, usually without buttresses but rarely buttresses present; twigs strongly 4-angled, terminal bud usually conical, about 1 mm long and usually not functional.
• Leaves elliptical to suboblong, (3-)4-8(-11) cm long, acute to attenuate at base, bluntly acuminate at apex, with 7-13(-17) veins per 5 mm.
• Inflorescences axillary, unbranched, 7-11(-17)-flowered; flowers with 4 (rarely 8) tepals.
• Fruit ovoid to spherical, 15-17 mm long, with fairly thick, compact outer layer, dull green.

C. pulcherrimum has often been confused with C. tetrapterum. Records of C. pulcherrimum from Thailand and Indo-China probably refer to C. tetrapterum. C. pulcherrimum usually grows in mixed dipterocarp forest up to 300 m altitude. The timber is fairly heavy with density of 590-900 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. It is not durable and not resistant to dry-wood termites. See also the table on wood properties.

1, 33, 44, 102, 318, 461, 648, 779.

• Calophyllum

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