Hopea iriana (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Hopea iriana v. Slooten

Protologue: Reinwardtia 2: 28, f. 10 (1952).

Synonyms

• Hopea nabirensis v. Slooten (1952).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: sian, saindorih (Japen), lilipga (Manikiong)
• Papua New Guinea: heavy hopea.

Distribution

New Guinea, Japen Island and the Aru Islands.

Uses

The wood is used as giam, mainly for wharf and bridge building, window framing, billiard-cue butts and external cladding.

Observations

• A large tree of up to 48 m tall, bole cylindrical, branchless for up to 30 m, with a diameter of up to 100 cm and flying buttresses, bark surface flaky, blackish, inner bark pale yellow or light brown, sapwood pale straw-coloured, heartwood dark brown; young parts buff puberulent.
• Leaves lanceolate-falcate, 5-13 cm × 2-4.5 cm, leathery, dull greyish minutely stellate beneath, base unequal, cuneate, acumen slender, up to 1.5 cm long, margin frequently subrevolute, venation scalariform, secondary veins 7-11 pairs, slender but distinctly elevated beneath, slightly elevated above.
• Stamens 15, in 3 subequal verticils, ovary and stylopodium conical-cylindric, sericeous, style short, columnar.
• All fruit calyx lobes saccate, 2 longer ones up to 7 cm × 1.8 cm, broadly spatulate, obtuse, 3 shorter ones up to 6 mm × 4 mm, ovate, acute.

H. iriana is very variable showing regional variants. It occurs in evergreen forest on hills, especially on ridges at up to 600 m altitude. The density of the wood is about 1000 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

67, 87, 258, 259, 735, 744, 748.

Main genus page

• Hopea (giam)

Authors

• K.M. Kochummen (selection of species),
• F.T. Frietema (selection of species)