About 200 spp., Indo- Pacific, 27 in Malaya. Shrub or small tree, common throughout Malaya in secondary and primary forests.
Elaeocarpus stipularis mendong, medang kelawar
Burma to Indo-China, Java, Borneo, Philippines, Bali. Med. tree to 30m, 2m girth, sm. buttresses. V. common in secondary and primary forests fr. seasonal swamps to 1,200m. Lat. having stipules.
Elaeocarpus sp. mendong
About 200 spp., Indo- Pacific, 27 in Malaya. Shrub or small tree, common throughout Malaya in secondary and primary forests.
Malaya, Borneo, Sumatra, Bangka. Medium tree to 27m and 1.3m girth. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry with fibrous to fleshy pericarp, ovoid and curved to one side.
Diospyros diepenhorstii kayu arang
Malaya, Thailand, Borneo, Sumatra, Philippines. Uncommon, scattered in lowland forest. Small tree to 17m. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry with fibrous to fleshy pericarp.
Diospyros discolor
buah mentega
Native to Philippines. Twigs velvety, Occasionally cultivated in Malaya for edible fruits. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry with fibrous to fleshy pericarp. (Lat. having many colours).
Diospyros sp.
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
70 spp. in Malaya, in all habitats exc. mangroves. An extraordinary 22 spp. endemic, this one not yet described. Fruits of several used as fish poison.
Diospyros sp (ismailii?)
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
Trees without latex, black bark; terminalia like Myristicaceae, but no red sap in bark. >70 spp in Malaya, many endemic. Some w edible fruit, berry w fibrous-fleshy pericarp.
Diospyros ‘kluang’
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
70 spp. in Malaya, in all habitats exc. mangroves. An extraordinary 22 spp endemic, this sp. as yet undescribed. Fruits of several used as fish poison.
Ten species in Malaya. Cut wood hisses loudly, twigs leave prominent horse-shoe shaped leaf scars. Large tree, deciduous after dry weather, buttresses merge into stilts. Flowers without petals. All states but Perlis. Sumatra, Borneo.
Dillenia philippinensis
simpoh
Philippines. (J.J. Dillenius, 1684-1747, German botanist, professor at Oxford). Flowers large, solitary, petals falling first day, fruit covered by thick fleshy edible sepals that make cough syrup & shampoo. Bark yields a red dye.
Dillenia flowers are spectacular, even if never prolific and not long lasting, opening before dawn and dropped by evening.
Dillenia reticulata simpoh gajah
Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo. To 40m ht & 3m girth. Flowers, 7cm, at end of leafless twig or with new leaves, petals yellow. Leaf base broadly tapering to round or heart shaped; 16-45 prs secondary nerves & fine tertiary network, raised on under surface, covered with velvety hairs.
Dillenia suffruticosa simpoh air
Large evergreen shrub to 7m, often forming thickets. Common in secondary forests, esp. swampy ground, most in the south. Flowers continuously, each open for just a day. Fruit ripe in 36 days.
The common simpoh air, Dillenia sufruticosa, flowers and fruits prolifically soon after planting. As a garden species, it is pretty but can quickly squeeze out less aggressive competitors and form dense thickets.
Dillenia sp.
simpoh
Ten species in Malaya. Bark rich orange brown, large white flowers, edible fruits, dispersed by elephants or water. From India to W. Malesia, often near streams.
Burma to Java, Indo China, China. From Kedah to NS, only west coast, to 15m w/ short buttresses. Lowland forest. Soft dense tomentum under leaf. One genus family in Old World tropics, temperate Asia to Aust. 7spp. in Malaya of 21 total.
Alangium ridleyi mentulang daun lebar
Endemic. All states exc. Kelantan and Johor, big tree to 40m and 2m girth. Flower calyx deeply ridged, petals fleshy if fresh, fruits ovoid with 12 ridges, seeds with white translucent juicy aril.
From E India through Malesia. Highlands, not common, solitary. To 40m straight no buttresses. Terminal bud conical, pointed. Leaves in 2 ranks, opposite or sub-opp.
Rocky and sandy coasts all round Malaya. Tropical Asia to N. Australia and Pacific. Up to 30m. Leaves crowded at end of twigs, spiral, brilliant red before falling twice a year, fruits ripen yellow with inner corky wall for flotation.
Terminalia calamansanay jelawai mentalun
Indo-china, Siam, Burma, Malesia, Solomons. Common in Kedah and Langkawi. Large trees to 30m, flat topped crown, bole frequently fluted, buttresses tall, thin, spreading. Flowers sessile, cream on hairy spikes. Fruits two winged.
Terminalia subspathulata jelawei
From Perak south, big tree, tall spreading buttresses, small leaf blade obovate & bluntly tipped. Fruit flat, spindle shaped and winged.
Malay peninsula, Burma. Edible fruit, dried segments used as condiment. Leaf sap used in post natal tonics.
Garcinia cowa kandis
NW India to Malaya. Slender tree to 30m, common in low undulating country. Young red leaves edible, fruits ripening dull orange yellow, seeds embedded in pale orange pulp.
Garcinia hombroniana bruas
Around Malayan coast and islands up to a few miles inland. Inland in lowland Kedah, Ulu Perak & Pahang, and in lower montane forest in Frasers Hill, Cameron Highlands.
Garcinia nervosa kandis
Malaya, Sumatra, Rhiau, Borneo, Philippines. Scattered in Malaya, uncommon. Flowers in big clusters, fruit pear to round, seeds red with thin white flesh. ‘By far the noblest species of the genus’, J.D. Hooker.
Garcinia parvifolia kandis
Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo. Sm – med, monopodial, dense, leaves without stipules. Saplings often w/ linear leaves unlike adult form. Lat. small leaf. Fruit round-elongate, ungrooved, sm. seeds embedded in much pulp. Common.
Garcinia prainiana cherupu, kechupu, menchupu
Sm. tree to 10m, crown narrow, dense, bushy. Scattered and uncommon in lowland forest south to NS. Sometimes cult., fruits yearly. Fruit 4cm across, bun like, smooth ripening yellow. Seeds embedded in sweet or sour pale orange pulp.
Shrub or tree to 33m. Two spp in Malesia, one in New Guinea and Moluku, this in Malaya, Sumatra & Borneo. Lowlands, river bank, peat swamp. Small fruits 1cm, ripen pink. 1 fr TH 11.09.
Large genus mostly tropical Asia to Pacific; in Malaya 45 spp. Canopy, but not emergent, and mostly slim girth. This sp. common throughout Malaya except Perlis, on hillsides and ridges.
Calophyllum floribundum bintangorkuning
Large genus of more than 120 species; mostly in tropical Asia. This one is common throughout Malay and Borneo.
Calophyllum inophyllum bintangor laut
Big tree, massive girth, often leaning, branching low. Rocky and sandy coasts, widespread, a member of the Indo Pacific strand flora, ranging from India to Fiji.
Calophyllum macrocarpum bintangor bunut
Large genus mostly tropical Asia to Pacific; in Malaya 45 spp. Throughout Malaya, commonest in centre. Borneo. This sp. v. big, to 45m and 5m girth, no buttresses. Squirrels eat the large, ellipsoid- ovoid, juicy & fragrant fruit.
Calophyllum retusum bintangor gambut
Endemic, Pahang, Selangor, southwards. Peat and fresh water swamp forest. Big tree to 50m, no buttresses, leaf stalk long & slender, midrib narrowly channeled at base above, prominent below.
Calophyllum sclerophyllum bintangor jangkang
Malaya, Borneo. Coastal, Trengganu to Johor; these from Pekan FR. Big tree, often w/stilt roots, twigs stout 4 angles, leaf stalk dries black, very leathery.
Calophyllum sp. bintangor
Large genus of 120 spp, most in tropical Asia to Pacific, 45 in Malaya, this one not yet described. Leaves distinctly stalked, fruit a drupe. 3 new specimens Dec 2007.
Borneo. Trengganu, Perak southwards. To 33m, but flowers at 3m. Bark smooth becomes cracked and fissured, ridges adherent scaly. Flowers tight terminal clusters. Fruit in 4 thin woody sepals.
Sumatra, Malaya (exc. north). Lowland. Small, to 20m, bole fluted at butt, bark adherent scaly, sometimes dippled. Flowers in axillary and terminal umbels, black woody fruits. Stout leaf stalk, to 5mm. 2 new specimens June 2008.
Mesua ferrea penaga
SW India to peninsula Siam. Throughout Malaya, but rare south of NS. To 24 m, 4m grith. Common and sometimes gregarious, on thin well drained soil. Bole fluted at butt. Leaves elliptic (6-12cm long) tapered to apex and base. White flowers fragrant, showy to 9cm across. Fruits ellipsoid, slightly beaked.
