Alstonia iwahigensis Elmer
Family
Apocynaceae
Synonyms
None
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Tombalik (Bundu Tuhan, Sarawak), tambalait (Murut, Sabah). |
| Indonesia | Pulai gunung, pelantan (East Kalimantan). |
Geographical Distributions
The Philippines (Palawan, Sulu Archipelago), Brunei, Malaysia (northern Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (central and eastern Kalimantan).
Description
Alstonia. iwahigensis is a medium-sized to large tree that can reach measuring up to 45(-70) m tall. The bole is tall, straight, fluted, measures up to 80 cm in diametre, straight buttresses which are measuring up to 6 m tall and spread out at the base for measures about 2 m. The outer bark is greyish, yellowish or dark brown, smooth to slightly rough while the inner bark is yellow or pale yellow and with copious latex.
The leaves are in whorls of 4-7, elliptical to obovate, measuring 3.5-10 cm x 1.5-4 cm, obtuse or rounded apex, with 25-40 pairs of secondary veins while the petiole is measures (5-)10-20(-28) mm long.
The inflorescence is usually form 2 bunches of dense and many-flowered clusters. The pedicel is measures 1-2 mm long. The sepal is variably pubescent while the petal is hairless outside except for the lobe margins. The follicles are smooth.
Ecology / Cultivation
A. iwahigensis occurs on hillsides, both on sandy and loamy soils in primary and secondary forest at 20-500 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12 (2): Medicinal and poisonous plants.
