Cynometra ramiflora (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cynometra ramiflora L.

Protologue: Sp. pl.: 382 (1753).

Synonyms

• Cynometra bijuga Spanoghe ex Miq. (1855),
• Cynometra hosinoi Kaneh. (1935),
• Cynometra neo-caledonica Guillaumin (1936).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: kateng, kepel, wunut (Java)
• Malaysia: katong laut (general)
• Philippines: balitbitan, oringen (general)
• Cambodia: chôm'prinh
• Thailand: phang kha (central), ma khak (peninsular), maeng kha (Trat)
• Vietnam: cây trâm nghệ, cây mót.

Distribution

India, Indo-China, Thailand, throughout Malesia to the Pacific; often erroneously reported from Australia.

Uses

The wood is used as kekatong; it is suitable for house building, tool handles, woodcraft and ornamental purposes.

Observations

• A small to medium-sized tree of up to 30 m tall, bole up to 60 cm in diameter and sometimes with buttresses of up to 90 cm high, outer bark smooth but with numerous lenticels, dark grey to brown, inner bark whitish or light brown to red, sapwood pale pinkish-brown, heartwood cream to reddish-brown.
• Leaves with 1-2 pairs of rounded to acuminate leaflets, the lower pair usually smaller than the upper one.
• Pod distinctly rugose, globose or slightly flattened, woody, 2.2-5 cm × 1.3-4 cm.

C. ramiflora is a characteristic constituent of the inner fringe of mangrove forest but is also found inland in riverine and even savanna vegetation up to 525 m altitude. The density of the wood is 720-1155 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

35, 89, 100, 102, 146, 153, 175, 183, 235, 318, 366, 381, 493, 579, 625, 626, 779.

Main genus page

• Cynometra

Authors

• M.H.A. Hoffman