Lepisanthes amoena (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Lepisanthes amoena (Hassk.) Leenh.

Family: Sapindaceae

Synonyms

• Otophora imbricata Blume,
• Otophora spectabilis Blume.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: buah sobo (Palembang), kelampa sowa (Malay), langir (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: kayu mata hari.

Distribution

Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands), Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah, Sarawak), Brunei. Sometimes cultivated.

Uses

The fruits are edible but astringent. The wood is very hard. Sometimes the plant is cultivated as an ornamental.

Observations

• Monoecious shrub or small tree, up to 7 m tall.
• Leaves with 15-31 leaflets.
• Inflorescences up to 60 cm long.
• Fruit a 3-lobed berry, 2-3 cm in diameter, orange-brown, with 1-4 seeds and endocarp forming an arillode.

In forests up to 200 m altitude. Germination is hypogeal.

Selected sources

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1963 1968. Flora of Java. 3 Volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands.

• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd ed. 2 Volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.

• Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd ed. 3 Volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch Indië. 1953 pp.

• Leenhouts, P.W., 1969. A revision of Lepisanthes (Sapindaceae). Blumea 17: 33-91.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen