Fagraea racemosa Jack ex Wallich Roxb.
Family
Loganiaceae
Synonyms
Fagraea morindaefolia (Reinw.) Blume, Fagraea subreticulata Blume, Fagraea maingayi C.B. Clarke.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia |
Membera gading, setebal (Peninsular), engkudu hutan (Sarawak). |
| English | False coffee tree. |
| Indonesia | Ki cankuda (Sundanese), melingu (Javanese), kayu si markopi-kopi (Sumatra). |
| Thailand | Thum bok, phawa nam, waa nam (Peninsular). |
| Philippines | Balatbuaya (Filipino), kukodmon (Bikol). |
| Cambodia | Han tuk (Koh Kong), nho pre (Kampot), prahout tuk (Kandal,Kompong Thom). |
Geographical Distributions
Fagraea racemosa is found in Southern Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, throughout the Malaysian area, except for the eastern half of Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Solomon Islands and northern Australia.
Description
Fagraea racemosa is a shrub or small to medium sized tree up to 25(-40) m tall while the bole measures up to 30 cm in diametre and without buttresses while the surface of the bark is smooth but becomes narrowly and deeply fissured. It is pale grey to dark grey-brown and the inner bark is yellow-brown.
The leaves are very variable, from broadly ovate via elliptical to obovate-oblong, lance-shaped or rarely even linear, measuring 5-50 cm x 1-23 cm, with rounded to acute apex and often short to long acuminate. The secondary veins are distinctly prominent below and with petiole 0.2-5 cm long. The stipules connate into an ocrea that surrounds the stem.
The inflorescence is terminal and usually droops. The pedicel is with bracteoles at the base. The petal tube is funnel-shaped, 2-4 cm long and with faintly 2-lobed stigma.
The fruit is nearly spherical to ellipsoid-ovoid, apiculate, bluish or greenish or red when ripens.
Ecology / Cultivation
Fagraea racemosa is highly variable and several forms have been distinguished. It is found in light to dense primary but more often secondary forests in swampy to dry soil, along rivers but also on podzolic sands, in savannas and “lalang” grassland vegetation. Locally, it is a conspicuous element of early secondary forests on waste lands and poor soils. The density of the wood is 700-870 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.5(2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers.
