Shorea assamica (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea assamica Dyer

Protologue: Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 307 (1874).

Synonyms

• Shorea philippinensis Brandis (1895),
• Shorea koordersii Brandis ex Koord. (1898),
• Shorea globifera Ridley (1922).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: damar mesegar (general), pini boti pien (Moluccas), damar larieh (Sulawesi), sogar baringin nabotar (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: lemsa kulat, meranti pipit (Peninsular)
• Philippines: danlig (Tagalog), manggasinoro (general), siyau (Panay Bisau)
• Thailand: saya-khao.

Distribution

India, peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi and the southern Moluccas.

Uses

The timber is the major source of white meranti. The resin, called "damar tenang", was once collected on a commercial scale in North Sulawesi.

Observations

• A large tree up to 55 m tall with bole up to 150 cm in diameter and prominent buttresses.
• Leaves ovate, elliptical or rarely obovate, (4-)5-9(-10) cm × 2-4(-6) cm, with 13-18 pairs of secondary veins, lower surface sometimes pilose, petiole 5-7 mm long, stipules auriculate, up to 15 mm long.
• Stamens 15, anthers with short to long appendages.
• Fruit pedicel c. 2 mm long, larger fruit calyx lobes up to 11 cm × 2 cm.

S. assamica is very variable with 4 subspecies which occur in evergreen or semi-evergreen forest on fertile clay soils on well-drained flat or hilly country up to 1000 m altitude. The density of the wood is 420-680 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

89, 102, 175, 253, 258, 318, 327, 499, 514, 579, 628, 677, 744, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (white meranti)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)