Agathis dammara (Lambert) Rich.

Agathis dammara (Lambert) Rich.

Family

Araucariaceae

Synonyms

Agathis loranthifolia Salisb., Agathis celebica (Koord.) Warb., Agathis hamii Meijer Drees.

Vernacular Names

Indonesia Dammar raja (General), kisi (Buru), salo (Ternate).
Philippines Dayungon (Samar).

Geographical Distributions

Agathis dammara is distributed from the Philippines (Palawan and Samar), Sulawesi and the Moluccas; planted on a fairly large scale in Java.

Description

A. dammara is a very large tree that can reach up to 65 m tall. The adult leaves are elliptical, measuring 6-8 cm x 2-3 cm, taper towards the rounded apex and with solitary resin canals.

The mature pollen cones measuring 4-6 cm x 1.2-1.4 cm. They are subtended by a peduncle that measure about 3 mm long while the microsporophylls are with a spoon-shaped apical part which measure about 2 mm x 2.5 mm and slightly angled at the apex.

The mature seed cones are oval, measuring 9-10.5 cm x 7.5-9.5 cm while the seed bracts are roughly obtriangular with a small projection near the base on one side. The seed is with a short acute projection on one upper corner and a wing on the other.

Ecology / Cultivation

A. dammara is scattered but locally common in lowland rainforests up to 1200 m altitude. It is sometimes regarded as conspecific with A. philippinensis. The density of the wood is 380-660 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content.

Line Drawing / Photograph

Agathis_dammara

References

  1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(1): Timber trees: Major commercial timbers.