Knema mandaharan (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Knema mandaharan (Miq.) Warb.
- Family: Myristicaceae
Synonyms
Myristica mandaharan Miq.
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: mandaharan (Sumatra).
Distribution
Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.
Uses
The seeds have been used as a source of oil. The oil often has a high content of resin, making commercialization difficult. The wood is utilized like that of other members of Myristicaceae, as "penarahan" timber (particularly for indoor construction) and for firewood.
Observations
A dioecious tree, 10-25 m tall, bark sometimes striate, occasionally tending to crack or flake, inner bark pinkish-brown, wood white. Leaves alternate, simple, coriaceous; petiole up to 2 cm long; blade oblong to lanceolate, 15-55 cm × 2.5-14 cm, base rounded to cordate, sometimes attenuate, apex acute, glossy or bright brown above, lower surface grey-brown or glaucous, venation fine, faint or distinct. Inflorescence looking like a compound umbel without peduncle, flowers on a knob-like, warted brachyblast 5-15 mm in diameter; male ones 2-10-flowered, female ones 1-8-flowered; flowers with rusty persistent hairs up to 1 mm long and 3-5-lobed perianth; male flowers with pedicel 3-6 mm long, buds obovoid, 3.5-6 mm × 3.5-5.5 mm, cleft 2/3(-3/4), androphore tapering, 1-1.5 mm long, staminal disk circular, flat or slightly convex or concave, 1.5-2.5 mm in diameter, anthers 10-17, subsessile, less than 1 mm long, oblique to nearly horizontal, not or but little touching; female flowers with pedicel 4-7 mm long, buds ellipsoid-obovoid, 8-10 mm × 5-6.5 mm, cleft about ½, ovary ovoid, 4 mm long, style up to 1 mm long; stigma more or less flat, 2-lobed and each lobe again with 8-10 linear lobes. Infructescence with 1-4 fruits; fruit a unicarpellate capsule on stalk 4-8 mm long, ovoid to ellipsoid, 3-6 cm × 2.5-4 cm, dry pericarp 2-8 mm thick with dark brown hairs 1-2 mm long. K. mandaharan occurs in primary or swamp forest at 100-1800 m altitude and flowers and fruits year-round. The distinctness of the venation of the upper leaf surface, the fruit size and the thickness of the pericarp are quite variable.
Selected sources
42, 59.
