Shorea malibato (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea malibato Foxw.

Protologue: Elmer, Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 6: 1955 (1913).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: guisok amarillo (Camarines), guisok madlao (Leyte), yakal malibato (Tagalog).

Distribution

The Philippines (Luzon, Leyte and Mindanao).

Uses

The timber is used as balau.

Observations

• A large tree with bole up to 80 cm or more in diameter and prominent buttresses.
• Leaves elliptical to lanceolate, 7-12 cm × 2-5 cm, with 11-14 pairs of secondary veins narrowly depressed above.
• Petals narrow, stamens 35-37, filaments glabrous.
• Fruit calyx lobes unequal, larger three up to 5 cm × 1.3 cm.

Formerly, S. malibato occurred locally in non-seasonal evergreen forests up to 450 m altitude, but it is now threatened with extinction. The density of the wood is about 890 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

175, 258, 579, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (balau)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)