Changes

'''== Trade groups'''==

*Nyatoh: lightweight to medium-heavy hardwood, e.g. ''Madhuca'' ''burckiana'' (Koord.) H.J. Lam, ''M.'' ''malaccensis'' (C.B. Clarke) H.J. Lam, ''M.'' ''motleyana'' (de Vriese) J.F. Macbr., ''M.'' ''sericea'' (Miq.) H.J. Lam.

*Bitis: heavy hardwood, e.g. ''M.'' ''betis'' (Blanco) J.F. Macbr., ''M.'' ''utilis'' (Ridley) H.J. Lam ex K. Heyne.

*Nyatoh:*Nyatoh: padang (En)

*Bitis

''Madhuca'' (including ''Ganua'' ), comprising about 100 species, has a western Malesian centre of diversity. Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia are particularly rich in species, about 40 and 30 respectively. The genus is distributed from India, Sri Lanka and south-eastern China to New Guinea, and has about 5 species in eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and about 10 in the Philippines. Widely distributed species include ''M.'' ''burckiana'' (the Philippines to New Guinea), ''M.'' ''malaccensis'' (Thailand to Borneo) and ''M.'' ''utilis'' (Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo).

The latex from several species gives a gutta-percha of inferior quality, which is sometimes used as an adulterant for the good-quality gutta-percha from ''Palaquium'' ''gutta'' (Hook.f.) Baillon and ''Payena'' ''leerii'' (Teijsm. & Binnend.) Kurz.

The seeds of ''M.'' ''betis'' yield an oil which is used for illuminating, but which is not used as extensively as the oil from the Indian ''M.'' ''longifolia'' (J. Koenig) J.F. Macbr. The oil from the latter species is also used in food, and for making soap and candles. Oil from the seeds of ''M.'' ''motleyana'' may also be used for cooking, e.g. in Malaysia.

The fruits of ''M.'' ''obovatifolia'' are edible. Bark, leaves and latex of ''M.'' ''betis'' are said to be used medicinally in the Philippines.

The lighter types of timber from ''Madhuca'' species are not traded separately. They are generally obtainable in very limited quantities and mixed with the timber from other ''Sapotaceae'' genera such as ''Palaquium,'' , ''Payena'' and ''Pouteria,'' , and sold collectively as nyatoh or mixed light hardwood.

Exports of nyatoh sawn timber from Peninsular Malaysia decreased from 16 500 m³(with a value of US$ 2.1 million) in 1981 to 9500 m³(with a value of US$ 1.3 million) in 1986. From 1986 onward the export increased to 32 500 m³with a value of US$ 6.1 million in 1990, but in 1992 it amounted only 8000 m³with a value of US$ 2.8 million. Large amounts of nyatoh are also exported from Sarawak and Sabah; the export of round logs from Sabah was 65 000 m³(worth US$ 6.3 million) in 1987, and in 1992 the export of logs was 14 000 m³and of sawn timber 8500 m³with a total value of US$ 4.4 million. In Papua New Guinea nyatoh is ranked in MEP (Minimum Export Price) group 1, and fetched a minimum export price of US$ 100/m³for saw logs in 1992.

Together with ''Palaquium'' ''ridleyi'' King & Gamble and ''P. stellatum'' King & Gamble, ''Madhuca'' ''utilis'' and ''M.'' ''betis'' are the main bitis-producing species. However, this timber is only obtainable in small quantities and is used domestically.

''Madhuca'' timber, with its density diverging from 420-1150 kg/m³at 15% moisture content, is classified amongst the lightest to heaviest nyatoh timbers or as bitis timber. The limit between nyatoh and bitis is often considered to be 850 kg/m³, but in some regions (e.g. East Malaysia) bitis is not accepted as a separate group of timber.

Nyatoh is a light to medium-weight, moderately hard to hard, red meranti-like wood. The heartwood is pinkish-brown to reddish-brown and only moderately distinct from the lighter sapwood. The density is (420-)550-800(-850) kg/m³at 15% moisture content; the majority of the commercial supply being 600-700 kg/m³. The grain is shallowly interlocked, texture moderately fine and even.

The sawing properties are variable, probably depending on the species, but variation may also be large within a species. Some nyatoh-producing species contain silica, which makes the timber difficult to work (e.g. ''M.malaccensis'' ''malaccensis,'' ''M.'' ''motleyana'' and ''M.'' ''sericea'' ). Nyatoh is easy to polish. The wood is easy to turn. Pre-boring for nails and screws is advised because of easy splitting. Gluing gives no problems. The fine grain and colour make it suitable for veneer; sometimes the wood is figured and then the veneer can be very attractive, especially when radially sliced. Peeling is reported as easy to fairly difficult, and a good plywood can be made from the timber. The logs are reasonably free from defects.

Nyatoh is rated as only moderately durable. It is prone to termite attack and susceptible to fungal attack, but not to powder-post beetles. Treated nyatoh timber can be very durable. However, it is very resistant to preservative treatment. Using the open tank method and an equal mixture of creosote and diesel, the heartwood absorbs an average of only 11 kg/m³. Bitis comprises heavier timber, with density of 850-1150 kg/m³at 15% moisture content. The heartwood is reddish-brown to dark brown, and clearly differentiated from the lighter sapwood. The grain is fairly straight, texture moderately fine and even. Bitis is very hard and strong, and much more durable than nyatoh.

Bitis is durable (test stakes of ''M. utilis'' showed an average service life in contact with the ground of 5.5 years), but it is very difficult to impregnate. Substances poisonous to termites are present in wood of ''M. betis'' . Timber of ''M.'' ''utilis'' is not very resistant to marine borers.

The seeds often contain saponins. De-fatted seed kernels of ''M.'' ''longifolia'' contain 26-50% saponin. Seeds of ''M.'' ''motleyana'' contain cyanides. The oil from the seed kernels principally consists of palmitic and stearic acids.

*Small to large trees, with latex, sometimes up to 50 m tall, usually with columnar bole up to 100 cm in diameter, buttressed or not, often branchless for a considerable length; outer bark smooth, cracked or fissured, usually brownish, inner bark soft and fibrous, pinkish to reddish-brown, sometimes yellowish; twigs usually slender, hairy (sometimes woolly), scurfy or glabrous at tips. *Leaves generally arranged spirally, usually closely to loosely clustered at ends of twigs, sometimes scattered, simple and entire, usually obovate or elliptical, often glabrous when mature but sometimes velvety (e.g. ''M.'' ''sericea'' ) or woolly beneath; secondary veins usually fairly numerous, straight or curved, usually diminishing until inconspicuous at the leaf margin, sometimes joined near the margin by an intramarginal vein, tertiary veins usually reticulate, sometimes parallel or transverse; petiole generally of even thickness throughout its length; stipules usually small and caducous, more rarely large and fairly persistent. *Inflorescence an axillary fascicle, 2-many-flowered. *Flowers bisexual; sepals 4, in 2 whorls of 2, glabrous or tufted with some hairs at apex; corolla (6-)8-12(-17)-lobed, tube often about as long as the lobes, usually woolly between the stamens at throat of the tube, whitish, pale yellow or pale green; stamens (12-)14-36(-43), in 1-3 whorls inserted at the corolla throat, often with short filaments, anthers mostly mucronate at apex; pistil 1, with (5-)8-9(-15)-celled ovary and long style. *Fruit a berry with thin to thick pericarp, 1(-4)-seeded. *Seed with thin, hard, shiny testa, contrasting with a narrow (rarely broad), linear, pale dull scar usually with membranous albumen and thick cotyledons. *Seedling with epigeal germination and a strongly developed taproot; first pair of leaves opposite or subopposite, subsequent leaves arranged spirally and soon similar to leaves of adult trees.

*Heartwood light brown, red brown to purple or chocolate red-brown, with lighter streaks, distinctly demarcated from the yellow-brown to purple- grey-brown sapwood. *Grain straight or shallowly interlocked. *Texture moderately fine to fine. *Growth rings indistinct to distinct, delimited by a narrow, often darker band of fibrous tissue at the beginning of the ring, and indicated by a zone with few or no vessels and without parenchyma; vessels barely visible to the naked eye; parenchyma and rays usually only visible with a lens.

*Growth rings, if present, indicated by a zone with few or no vessels and/or without parenchyma. *Vessels diffuse, occasionally in a weakly pronounced oblique pattern, 5-11(-20)/mm², mainly in radial multiples of 2-4(-6), round to oval, average tangential diameter 120-180μm; perforations simple; intervessel pits alternate, round, (5-)7-8(-10)μm; vessel-ray pits mainly confined to the upright and square cells, mainly large and simple, horizontally to vertically elongated or round, partly half-bordered, scarce in procumbent cells; helical thickenings absent; normal or sclerotic tyloses present in heartwood. *Fibres c. 1000-1900μm long, non-septate, typically very thick-walled, occasionally medium thick-walled, with simple to minutely bordered pits mainly confined to the radial walls. *Parenchyma abundant, diffuse, diffuse-in-aggregates or in fine continuous to discontinuous 1-2(-3)-seriate wavy bands sometimes forming a reticulate pattern, (5-)7-14 bands per radial mm, in strands of 5-8(-10) cells. *Rays 8-13(-15)/mm, 1-2(-3)-seriate, in some species mainly uniseriate in others mainly 2(-3)-seriate but then with uniseriate tails, up to 1200μm high, typically heterocellular with 2-4(-6) marginal rows of upright or square cells and procumbent body cells. *Crystals absent. *Silica bodies sometimes present in ray cells, occasionally in parenchyma or fibres.

Species studied: ''M.betis'' ''betis,'' ''M.longifolia'' ''longifolia,'' ''M.sericea'' ''sericea,'' ''M.'' utilis''utilis.''

''M.'' ''longifolia'' and perhaps also other species are believed to be pollinated by bats which are attracted by and eat the very sweet corollas. Monkeys have been observed to eat the seeds of ''M.'' ''utilis'' . Many seeds are destroyed in this way, but the ones dropped accidentally are dispersed over some distance.

Usually ''Madhuca'' can be distinguished from other ''Sapotaceae'' genera by the flowers having 4 sepals and a corolla with 8 or more lobes, and by the seed having a thin endosperm and thick cotyledons. Some trees such as meranti ( ''Shorea'' spp.), terentang ( ''Campnosperma'' spp.) and mengkulang ( ''Heritiera'' spp.) may look rather like nyatoh or bitis. The presence of latex in nyatoh and bitis is, however, a sufficient distinguishing characteristic. Several species dealt with here under ''Madhuca'' (e.g. ''M.'' ''motleyana'' ) have often been considered to belong to the separate genus ''Ganua'' , which was said to differ in having characteristic tufts of hairs at the apex of the sepals, and in a thinner pericarp. These distinguishing characters are, however, not reliable and it seems better to merge ''Ganua'' and ''Madhuca.''.

In India the timber from ''M.'' ''longifolia'' is used for furniture, boats and carts.

Like other nyatoh or bitis-producing trees, ''Madhuca'' is found in primary forest. Several species occur in permanent or seasonal freshwater forest or peat-swamp forest (e.g. ''M.'' ''motleyana'' ). Usually ''Madhuca'' species are restricted to lowland rain forest and occur up to 1000 m altitude. The montane species ''M. endertii'' forms an exception. Some species are common locally, e.g. ''M.'' ''motleyana'' and ''M.'' ''utilis'' in Peninsular Malaysia.

Seeds of ''M.'' ''utilis'' take 3-16 weeks to germinate.

'''== Silviculture and management''' == Very little or no special attention is given to nyatoh or bitis in silvicultural practices. Regeneration in logged-over forest is usually plentiful, similar to that in other ''Sapotaceae'' genera. In the forest the trees are managed and harvested in the same way as meranti, as they often grow together with ''Shorea'' trees and the timber is similar. Planting is not practised.

* van Royen, P., 1960. Revision of the Sapotaceae of the Malaysian area in a wider sense XX. Madhuca Gmelin. Blumea 10: 1-117. | '''10''' | * Wong, T.M., 1981. Malaysian timbers - nyatoh. Malaysian Forest Service Trade Leaflet No 54. Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Kuala Lumpur. 12 pp. == Selection of species ==