Shorea superba (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea superba Sym.

Protologue: Gard. Bull. Sing. 17: 491 (1960).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: selangan batu tulang ikan
• Malaysia: selangan batu daun halus (Sabah).

Distribution

Borneo.

Uses

The timber is used as balau; S. superba is one of the principal sources of balau in Sabah.

Observations

• A large to very large tree up to 75 m tall with bole branchless for up to 29 m and up to 225(-310) cm in diameter, with prominent buttresses sometimes up to 4 m high.
• Leaves oblong, thin, 7-12 cm × 4-7 cm, with 16-24 pairs of secondary veins, prominent and pilose beneath.
• Petals narrow, stamens c. 30, glabrous except for the setose appendages.
• Fruit calyx lobes unequal, larger three up to 6 cm × 1.2 cm.

S. superba occurs scattered on well-drained, clayey soils, usually on gentle hillsides up to 600 m altitude. The wood is very variable in density and is sometimes divided into heavier and lighter grades. The density varies between 695-1095 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

30, 100, 258, 476, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (balau)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)