Vatica havilandii (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Vatica havilandii Brandis

Protologue: Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. 31: 133 (1895).

Vernacular names

• Brunei: resak degong
• Malaysia: resak degong (general).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia and northern Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah).

Uses

The timber is used as resak.

Observations

• A small to medium-sized tree, sometimes 30 m tall, with cylindrical, often sinuate bole up to 35 cm in diameter, but usually less, and small buttresses.
• Leaves narrowly oblong to obovate, 8-17 cm × 2.5-5 cm, with 15-20(-22) pairs of secondary veins, sparsely and caducous powdery hairy but glabrescent, petiole 10-12 mm long.
• Inflorescences up to 8 cm long.
• Flower buds up to 5 mm long; nut globose, up to 12 mm long, completely hidden but free from the 5 equal fruit calyx lobes.

V. havilandii is rather uncommon, occurring generally only very locally in mixed dipterocarp forest on hills in coastal areas. The trees are usually too small to be of importance for their timber. The wood is reported as durable and has a density of 825-880 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content.

Selected sources

30, 89, 425, 677, 748.

Main genus page

• Vatica

Authors

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