Shorea seminis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea seminis (de Vriese) v. Slooten

Protologue: Merr., Pl. elmer. born.: 204 (1929).

Synonyms

• Shorea schefferiana Hance (1878),
• Isoptera borneensis Scheffer ex Burck (1886),
• Isoptera seminis (de Vriese) Burkill (1935).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: engkabang terendak, kawang tikus
• Indonesia: tengkawang ayer, tengkawang pelepak, tengkawang terindak (Kalimantan)
• Malaysia: engkabang chengai, engkabang terindak (Sarawak), selangan batu terendak (Sabah)
• Philippines: gisok-tapang (Sulu), malayakal (Tagalog), yakal (Chabacano).

Distribution

Borneo and the Philippines.

Uses

The timber is used as balau. The dammar is said to be of a comparatively good quality but not of any economic value. The fruits are collected locally as illipe nuts but, because of their small size, rarely exported.

Observations

• A medium-sized to very large tree up to 60 m tall with bole branchless for 25-30 m and up to 130 cm in diameter but usually much less, with prominent buttresses up to 2.5 m high.
• Leaves oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 9-18 cm × 2.5-8 cm, thinly leathery, with 9-15 pairs of slender and rather straight secondary veins.
• Petals narrow, stamens 30-40, the appendages with a few bristles.
• Fruit calyx lobes subequal, up to 2 cm × 1.8 cm.

S. seminis is typically found along rivers and often growing gregariously at low altitudes or rarely up to 1000 m altitude. The density of the wood is 720-1090 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

30, 89, 100, 102, 175, 258, 318, 476, 579, 677, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (balau)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)