Palaquium obovatum (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Palaquium obovatum (Griffith) Engl.
- Protologue: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 12: 511 (1890).
Synonyms
- Isonandra obovata Griffith (1854),
- Palaquium theoideum Elmer (1910; "theoidea").
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: mayang katapong, balam terupuh (Sumatra), siki putih (Moluccas)
- Malaysia: nyatoh puteh (Peninsular)
- Philippines: lahas (Subanon)
- Burma: pinle-byin
- Cambodia: sang das, chor ny, chlôr
- Thailand: khanun-nok, saang (Chanthaburi), yue-raa-toh (Malay, Pattani)
- Vietnam: chây.
Distribution
India, Burma, Indo-China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia Sumatra, Lingga, the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Borneo (Sarawak), Sulawesi, the Philippines (Luzon, Mindoro, Sibuyan, Samar), Flores and the Moluccas.
Uses
The timber is used as nyatoh locally for house building. The latex is used as an adulterant for gutta-percha.
Observations
- A medium-sized to large tree up to 45 m tall, with columnar bole up to 80(-110) cm in diameter.
- Leaves usually densely clustered at tip of branches, obovate(-oblong), with distinct, transverse tertiary venation, puberulous or glabrous and glaucous beneath.
- Flowers in 4-12-flowered clusters, borne on (4-)9-20 mm long pedicels, greenish-yellow or greenish-white.
- Fruit globose, ellipsoid to obpyriform, 2-3 cm long, glabrous.
Two varieties have been distinguished: var. obovatum found from India to Sumatra and Borneo, and var. orientale H.J. Lam found in the Philippines, Sulawesi and the Moluccas. The latter variety differs particularly in having more oblong leaves with more acuminate apex, and shorter pedicels.
P. obovatum is a fairly common species of lowland forest, up to 1300 m altitude. The wood has a density of 580-760 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content. The gutta-percha prepared from the latex is white and of inferior quality. See also the table on wood properties.
Selected sources
36, 102, 190, 235, 318, 451, 480, 486, 578, 581, 642, 643, 743, 779, 792.
Main genus page
Authors
- R.H.M.J. Lemmens (selection of species)
