Calophyllum rubiginosum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Calophyllum rubiginosum M.R. Henderson & Wyatt-Smith

Protologue: Gard. Bull. Sing. 15: 308 (1956).

• Calophyllum muscigerum Boerl. & Koord. ex K. Heyne (1927).

• Indonesia: lancar (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: bintangor daun karat (Peninsular).

Southern Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, East Kalimantan).

The timber is used as bintangor. The poisonous latex is used to exterminate rats and to stupefy fish; it is also used in local medicine.

• A medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 40 m tall, with bole up to 75 cm in diameter, without buttresses but sometimes with small spurs; twigs strongly 2- or 4-angled, terminal bud plump, 4-8 mm long.
• Leaves elliptical to suboblong or ovate, (4.5-)7-16 cm long, acute at base, acute or acuminate at apex, with 8-14 veins per 5 mm, finely rusty tomentose beneath.
• Inflorescences terminal and from adjacent leaf axils, unbranched, 7-15-flowered; flowers with 8 tepals (rarely 4).
• Fruit ovoid-ellipsoid, 20-22 mm long, with fairly thin, compact outer layer, brownish-green.

C. rubiginosum has been confused with C. molle and C. wallichianum. It grows in lowland forest up to 500 m altitude. In some places it is abundant, e.g. in Selangor (Peninsular Malaysia).

33, 102, 648, 779.

• Calophyllum

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