Payena acuminata (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Payena acuminata (Blume) Pierre

Protologue: Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Paris: 528 (1885).

Synonyms

• Payena sericea (Blume) H.J. Lam (1925) non Miq. (1859), Madhuca acuminata (Blume) Baehni (1965).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: jengkot (Java), balam, balam durian (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: nyatoh durian
• Thailand: cha-kun, phikun-pa (Narathiwat).

Distribution

Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Simeuluë, Java and Borneo (Kalimantan, Sabah).

Uses

The timber is used as nyatoh. The latex is used to adulterate gutta-percha. The fruits are edible.

Observations

• A medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 40 m tall, but usually much less, with straight bole up to 90 cm in diameter.
• Leaves usually elliptical, densely pubescent beneath.
• Flowers small, up to 1 cm long, white.
• Fruit ovoid or narrowly ovoid, 3-3.5 cm long.

P. acuminata resembles P. maingayi but has smaller flowers. Two varieties are distinguished: var. acuminata and var. pulchra (Burck) H.J. Lam, the latter having broader leaves with more prominent secondary veins below and occurring only in Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan. P. acuminata is locally common (e.g. in Peninsular Malaysia), elsewhere it occurs scattered (e.g. in Java), and grows up to 1300 m altitude. The density of the timber is 580-880 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. The latex supplies gutta-percha of very inferior quality.

Selected sources

35, 36, 100, 318, 461, 727, 779.

Main genus page

• Payena

Authors

• R.H.M.J. Lemmens (selection of species)