Dipterocarpus confertus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Dipterocarpus confertus v. Slooten

Protologue: Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, sér. 3, 8: 322, f. 9 (1927).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: keruing kobis
• Indonesia: kerubang tudang, keruing pungguh, keruing tempurung (Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: keruing kobis (Sabah, Sarawak), keruing kolong, keruing kelukop (Sabah).

Distribution

Borneo.

Uses

The timber is used as keruing. Wood-oil can be obtained from the bole which is locally known as "tudan" and is used for torches.

Observations

• A medium-sized or rarely large tree of up to 50 m tall, bole cylindrical, up to 145 cm in diameter, buttresses up to 3 m tall, c. 15 cm thick, rounded, spreading, bark surface slightly ribbed, rust-red, or paler to grey, inner bark dark red-brown, sapwood pale yellow, heartwood light ashy red to reddish or dark brown; buds broadly ovoid, pale fulvous-brown tufted hispid.
• Leaves broadly obovate to orbicular, (18-)22-35 cm × (14-)16-22 cm, base obtuse or subpeltate, apex obtuse or shortly acuminate, secondary veins 9-12 pairs, upper surface caducous hispid, venation beneath persistently tufted hispid, petiole 5-6 cm long, stipules broadly ovate, persistently hispid outside.
• Stamens about 25.
• Fruit calyx tube narrowly obovoid, with 5 indistinct ridges, densely tomentose, 2 larger fruit calyx lobes up to 14 cm × 3 cm, 3 shorter ones up to 1.7 cm × 0.7 cm.

D. confertus is rather common but occurs scattered in mixed dipterocarp forest on low hills and undulating land below 800 m altitude. The density of the wood is 690-900 kg/m³at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

30, 31, 89, 251, 461, 476, 737, 746, 748.

Main genus page

• Dipterocarpus (Timbers)

Authors

• T. Smitinand (selection of species),
• C. Phengklai (selection of species),
• L.E. Groen (selection of species)