Shorea elliptica (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea elliptica Burck

Protologue: Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg 6: 215 (1887).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: meranti lang
• Indonesia: balau laut batu (general)
• Malaysia: meranti lang (Sarawak).

Distribution

North-western Kalimantan and western Sarawak.

Uses

The timber is used as red balau but is sometimes also traded as red meranti.

Observations

• A fairly large tree up to 40 m tall with bole up to 125 cm in diameter and buttresses up to 1.5 m high, bark deeply fissured.
• Leaves elliptical to oblong, 7-10 cm × 4-9 cm, with 11-16 pairs of secondary veins prominent beneath, upper surface dark green, lower yellow or whitish.
• Petals narrow, stamens 19-20.
• Fruit calyx lobes unequal, larger three up to 8 cm × 1.5 cm.

S. elliptica is locally common on leached or podzolic soils in mixed dipterocarp forest below 500 m altitude. The density of the wood is 820-1110 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

31, 89, 258, 461, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (balau)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)