Shorea palosapis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea palosapis (Blanco) Merr.

Protologue: Sp. Blanc.: 271 (1918).

Synonyms

• Shorea squamata (Turcz.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex DC. (1868).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: mayapis, tabak (Tagalog), pura (Bikol).

Distribution

Throughout the Philippines.

Uses

The timber is used as light red meranti. It is reported that wood extractives are tumour-inhibiting.

Observations

• A large tree up to 50 m tall with bole branchless for 20-25 m and up to 150(-180) cm in diameter, buttresses prominent.
• Leaves oblong, 12-24 cm × 8-11 cm, base shallowly cordate, with 14-19 pairs of secondary veins, stipules up to 15 mm × 11 mm.
• Stamens 15, anthers subglobose with long, slender appendages, stylopodium pear-shaped.
• Larger fruit calyx lobes up to 12(-17) cm × 1.5 cm.

S. palosapis is common on well-drained soils in evergreen mixed dipterocarp forest up to 1000 m altitude. The density of the wood is 365-680 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

95, 175, 258, 579, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (red meranti)

Authors

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