Mischocarpus sundaicus (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Mischocarpus sundaicus Blume

Family: Sapindaceae

Synonyms

• Cupania erythrorhachis Miquel,
• Mischocarpus lessertianus Ridley,
• Schleichera revoluta Turcz.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: ki howe (Sundanese), bangkongan (Javanese), pulas laut (Bangka)
• Malaysia: medang serai, ludai bulan, mutan riba (Peninsular)
• Philippines: malasalab (Pilipino)
• Cambodia: sânndaèk préi
• Thailand: khaokwang (Nakhom Si Thammarat), baekphrai (Surat Thani).

Distribution

From India throughout South-East Asia to northern and eastern Australia.

Uses

The wood yields a good quality charcoal. A decoction of the roots is used medicinally against coughs. It is probably a poisonous plant.

Observations

• Monoecious shrub or small to medium-sized tree, up to 10(-30) m tall.
• Leaves alternate, usually compound with (1-)3-7(-9) leaflets, with domatia.
• Inflorescence axillary or pseudoterminal, thyrsoid and branched.
• Sepals fused at base; petals absent or strongly reduced (in Peninsular Malaysia only); ovary 3-celled.
• Fruit an obpyriform capsule, 7-17(-20) mm long, glabrous or very sparsely puberulous.

M. sundaicus occurs in primary and secondary forest, between 800-1600 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd Edition. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Series 1. Volume 1, 4-. Kluwer, Dordrecht & Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, the Hague, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 261, 1450 pp.
• Salvosa, F.M., 1963. Lexicon of Philippine trees. Bulletin No 1. Forest Products Research Institute, College, Laguna, the Philippines. 136 pp.
• Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.
• van der Ham, R.W.J.M., 1977. A revision of Mischocarpus (Sapindaceae). Blumea 23: 251-288.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen