Vatica harmandiana (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Vatica harmandiana Pierre

Protologue: Fl. forest. Cochinch. fasc. 15, text accomp. pl. 239 (1890).

Synonyms

• Vatica cinerea King (1893),
• Sunaptea cinerea (King) Ridley (1922),
• Sunaptea lankaviensis (Ridley) Ridley (1922).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: resak laut (Peninsular)
• Cambodia: chrama:hs (Kampot)
• Thailand: sadao-pak (Saraburi, Satun), sak don (Trang), sak hin (peninsular)
• Vietnam: làu táu (Kiên Giang).

Distribution

Southern Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and northern Peninsular Malaysia.

Uses

The timber is used as resak, particularly for building houses and for constructional purposes.

Observations

• A small to medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 20 m tall, with bole up to 40(-70) cm in diameter.
• Leaves elliptical to lanceolate, 5.5-14 cm × 1.5-5 cm, with (6-)9-11(-12) pairs of secondary veins, glabrescent, petiole 5-11(-15) mm long.
• Inflorescences up to 10 cm long.
• Flower buds up to 8(-10) mm long.
• Nut subglobose, up to 7 mm long, surrounded by 2 longer and 3 shorter fruit calyx lobes united at base into a cup.

V. harmandiana occurs particularly on rocky places like dry ridges and headlands, on limestone, and in bamboo forests, up to 600 m altitude. It is reported as one of the few dipterocarps that thrives in exposed situations. The wood is heavy (890-1155 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content), hard, and yellowish-brown.

Selected sources

102, 235, 253, 425, 628, 677, 748.

Main genus page

• Vatica

Authors

• R.H.M.J. Lemmens (selection of species)