Shorea lepidota (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea lepidota (Korth.) Blume

Protologue: Mus. Bot. Lugd.-Bat. 2: 32 (1852).

Synonyms

• Shorea nitens Miq. (1860),
• Vatica stipulosa Miq. (1860),
• Shorea megistocarpa Foxw. (1932).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: abang gunung, meranti ketrahan, meranti rumbai (Sumatra)
• Malaysia: damar siput, meranti langgong, meranti labu (Peninsular).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.

Uses

The timber is used as light red meranti. The fruits are collected as illipe nuts but are of minor importance.

Observations

• A large tree up to 50 m tall with bole branchless for 18-27 m and a diameter of up to 135 cm, buttresses prominent, up to 5 m high, bark deeply fissured.
• Leaves narrowly ovate to oblong, 6-14 cm × 3-6 cm, with 14-16 pairs of secondary veins, glabrescent, stipules persistent, 1.5-2.5 cm long.
• Stamens 15, anthers subglobose with short appendages.
• Larger fruit calyx lobes up to 11 cm × 2.5 cm.

S. lepidota is a common species occurring on undulating land in lowland dipterocarp forest up to 350 m altitude. The density of the wood is 300-750 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

102, 125, 253, 258, 318, 677, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (red meranti)

Authors

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