Shorea acuminata (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea acuminata Dyer

Protologue: Fl. Brit. India 1: 305 (1874).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: bunia, meranti hitam batang (western Sumatra, Riau), meranti sarang burung (eastern Sumatra)
• Malaysia: meranti hijau, meranti rambai daun (Peninsular).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, the Riau and Lingga Archipelago.

Uses

The timber is used as light or dark red meranti. The tree yields a low-grade resin.

Observations

• A large tree up to 54 m tall, bole branchless for 18-31 m and up to 180 cm in diameter, buttresses prominent, up to 1.5 m high.
• Leaves ovate-falcate, 6-12 cm × 2.6-6 cm, with 7-11 pairs of arched secondary veins, shiny beneath, stipules more than 20 mm long.
• Petals dark wine red, stamens 15, with subglobose anthers, ovary without a stylopodium.
• Larger fruit calyx lobes up to 9 cm × 1.2 cm.

S. acuminata occurs on well-drained undulating land up to 400 m altitude. The density of the wood is 350-700 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

102, 125, 136, 137, 253, 258, 417, 514, 645, 677, 743, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (red meranti)

Authors

M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)