Gonystylus bancanus (Miq.) Kurz
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Synonyms
None
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Ramin melawis, melawis, ramin telur (Peninsular), garu buaja (Sarawak). |
| Indonesia | Ramin (General), gaharu buaya (Sumatra, Kalimantan), merang (Kalimantan). |
| Brunei | Ramin. |
Geographical Distributions
Gonystylus bancanus is found in south-western Peninsular Malaysia, south-eastern Sumatra, Bangka and Borneo.
Description
G. bancanus is a medium-sized to fairly large tree that can reach up to 40(-45) m tall. The bole is cylindrical and measuring up to 120 cm in diametre but usually less. It sometimes slightly fluted at the base and with many knee-roots (pneumatophores). The bark surface is often cracked and fissured, greyish to red-brown while the inner bark is fibrous, orange-brown to red-brown and with pale cream or white sapwood.
The leaves are elliptical, short oblong-oblanceolate or obovate, measuring (4-)5-8(-14.5) cm x (2-)3-5(-7) cm, often conduplicate, broadly wedge-shaped to rounded at the base, suddenly narrowed into an acuminate-cuspidate at the apex and quite hairless. The petiole is 8-18 mm long.
The inflorescence measures up to 9 cm long and with minutely adpressed ochraceo-puberulous. There are 13-20 petals which are narrowly lance-shaped and smooth.
The fruit is nearly spherical and measuring up to 4 cm in diametre.
Ecology / Cultivation
G. bancanus occurs gregariously in lowland freshwater swamp or peat-swamp forests outside the influence of tidal waters but often in broad belts along the coast. It occurs up to 100 m altitude and occasionally found in pure stands (e.g. Sarawak). The density of the wood is (460-)540-750(-840) kg/m3 at 15% of moisture content.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(1): Timber trees: Major commercial timbers.
