Harrisonia perforata (Blanco) Merr.
Family
Simaroubaceae
Synonyms
Harrisonia paucijuga Olivo, Harrisonia bennettii Benn.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kait-kait (Murut, Sabah) |
| Indonesia | Sesepang (Lam-pung), garut (Sundanese), ri kengkeng (Javanese) |
| Philippines | Asimau, mamikil (Tagalog), muntani (Bisaya) |
| Laos | Dok kin ta |
| Thailand | Khonthaa (Central), naam chee (Northem) |
| Vietnam | S[aa]n, da da, h[ar]i s[ow]n |
Geographical Distributions
H. perforata is found in the drier parts from Burma (Myanmar) eastward through Thailand to Indo-China and the Philippines, southward to Peninsular Malaysia (Perlis), South Sumatra, Borneo (Sabah), Sulawesi, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
Description
It is a climbing to erect prickly shrub up to 4(-6) m tall. The leaves pinnate with unpaired terminal leaflet up to 20 cm long, with 1-15 pairs of leaflets supported by a 5-30 mm long stalk. The stipulate thorns are slightly curved backward or downward, increasing in size to 7 mm. Its leaflets are rhomboid to ovate-lance-shaped, 10-20 mm x 5-15 mm, nearly entire to lobed with narrowly winged rachis. Flowers are with a pedicel, small sepal, triangular lobes, petals are lance-shaped, 6-9 mm x 2-4 mm which are red outside and pale red to white inside. The stamens are (8-)10 with anthers 1.5-4.5 mm long, filaments are 7-10 mm long, at the base with an elongated flattened strap-shaped structure which is densely woolly at the margin, disk is cup-shaped, ovary is slightly lobed, styles 5-8 mm long and pubescent. The fruit is a berry, 4-9 mm x 11-15 mm, exocarp of leathery texture, at least 1 mm thick, endocarp hard, without suture.
Ecology / Cultivation
H. perforata prefers dry, open localities such as light secondary forest, thickets and forest edges, often on limestone rocks; less common in monsoon forest. It prefers distinctly seasonal conditions from sea-level up to 700(-900) m altitude. (1)
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
-
View Abstract: Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2). 1998, Unesco.
