Litsea umbellata (Lour.) Merr.
Family
Lauraceae
Synonyms
Litsea hexantha A.L. Juss., L. amara Blume, L. utilis (Meissn.) Boerl.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Isop nanah, medang mayang (Peninsular). |
| English | Common laurel. |
| Indonesia | Huru bodas, ki pecel (Sundanese, Java), wuru emprit (Javanese, Java). |
| Thailand | Salot (Chanthaburi), mentru (Khmer-Chanthaburi), satua (Trat). |
Geographical Distributions
Litsea umbellate is distributed from India through Indo-China towards Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi and northern Australia.
Description
This is a small tree that can reach up to measure 14 m tall. The bole is up to measure 35 cm in diametre. The bark surface is smooth and grayish in colour. The inner bark is pale brown in colour.
The leaves are arranged alternate, with a size of measuring 4.5-18 cm x 2-7.5 cm, blunt to pointed, hairy, midrib sunken above and with 7-15 pairs of secondary veins which are rarely sunken above. The tertiary venation is scalariform, prominent below and with a size of measure about 0.5-1.5 cm long petiole.
The flowers are in clusters or short racemes of peduncled umbellules and with 9 stamens.
The fruit is an ellipsoid in shape, with a size of measure about 0.7-1.0 cm long and seated on a 4-6-lobed perianth cup.
Ecology / Cultivation
L. umbellata is common in lowland forest and thickets, also occurs up to 1200 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5 (2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers.
