Hopea malibato (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Hopea malibato Foxw.

Protologue: Elmer, Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 6: 1953 (1913).

Synonyms

• Hopea woodiana Gutierrez (1968),
• Hopea dalingdingan Gutierrez (1976).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: yakal kaliot (general), malibato (Manobo), dalingdingan tayakad (Tagalog).

Distribution

The Philippines.

Uses

The wood is used as giam for high-grade constructional works, bridges and wharves, ship building, piling and railway ties.

Observations

• A medium-sized to fairly large tree of up to 36 m tall, bole branchless for about 18 m and with a diameter of up to 80 cm, bark surface smooth, greyish to dark brown, sapwood reddish-brown, heartwood fawn-coloured, turning dark reddish-brown on exposure.
• Leaves lanceolate-falcate, 5-9 cm × 1.5-4 cm, base cuneate, shortly decurrent, acumen very slender, up to 2 cm long, venation dryobalanoid, midrib distinctly raised above, secondary veins about 11 pairs, ascending, arched, with shorter veins in between, very slender but evident and elevated beneath.
• Stamens 15, ovary ovoid, without stylopodium, style columnar, 1.5-2 times as long as the ovary.
• 2 longer fruit calyx lobes up to 3.5 × 0.9 cm, 3 shorter ones up to 4 mm × 4 mm, ovate, subacute, shorter than the apiculate nut.

H. malibato is widespread and locally common in evergreen dipterocarp forest up to 600 m altitude. The density of the wood is about 1100 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

175, 258, 579, 599, 748.

Main genus page

• Hopea (giam)

Authors

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