Dillenia obovata (Blume) Hoogl.
Family
Dilleniaceae
Synonyms
Dillenia aurea auct. non J.E. Smith.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Simpoh padang, simpoh ayer (Peninsular). |
| Indonesia |
Simpur rimba, simpur talang (Sumatra), sempur batu (Sundanese, Java). |
| Myanmar | Zinbyun, mai-san. |
| Thailand | Masan (South-eastern), san-yai, san-tong (Peninsular). |
Geographical Distributions
Dillenia obovata is found in Southern Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, eastern and southern Thailand, northern Peninsular Malaysia, southern Sumatra and western Java.
Description
Dillenia obovata is a medium-sized to fairly large deciduous tree which can reach up to 35 m tall. It is often with rather crooked bole, branchless for up to 14 m (but usually much less), and measures up to 70 cm in diametre. The buttresses are absent or small, rather smooth and with flaky bark surface and yellowish-grey to reddish-grey.
The leaves are obovate, measuring (16-)20-40(-60) cm x (10-)12-20(-26) cm and with slightly dentate to nearly entire margin. The petiole is up to 4 cm long.
The flowers are 14-16 cm in diametre, with 5 sepals and bright yellow petals. The stamens are in 2 distinct groups where the inner ones are larger. The anthers are sharply emarginate at the apex and open by pores.
The fruit is indehiscent while the seed is without aril.
Ecology / Cultivation
Dillenia obovata occurs in lowland, deciduous or evergreen secondary forests, also in regrowths, bamboo forests, teak forests and even regularly burned grasslands, up to 500 m altitude, but up to 1800 m in Indo-China. The density of the wood is about 720 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.5(2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers.
