Litsea firma
(Blume) Hook.f.
Lauraceae
This species is very similar to Litsea castanea Hook.f.[
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
Litsea sibuyanensis Elmer
Malapoenna firma (Blume) Kuntze
Tetranthera firma Blume
Common Name:
General Information
Litsea firma is an evergreen tree that can grow from 15 - 41 metres tall. The bole can be up to 80cm in diameter with buttresses up to 2.5 metres high[
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
,
701- Title
- Asean Tropical Plant Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood, which is used locally and is also traded as 'medang' timber[
895- Title
- Timber Notes - Light Hardwoods II
- Publication
- Timber Technology Bulletin No. 10
- Author
- Gan K.S.; Lim S.C.; Choo K.T.
- Publisher
- Forest Research Institute; Malaysia
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 139-258
- Description
- Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving a brief guide to five lesser known groups of light hardwoods from southeast Asia. It is available in PDF format on the Internet.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
931- Title
- Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) No. 39
- Publication
-
- Author
- Thawatchai Santisuk (Editor)
- Publisher
- The Forest Herbarium (BKF); Chatuchak, Bangkok.
- Year
- 2011
- ISBN
- 0495-3843
- Description
- A botanical journal, publishing papers on taxonomy (especially vascular plants), nomenclature, phylogeny, systematics, plant geography, and floristics; also morphology, palynology, cytotaxonomy, chemotaxonomy, anatomy and other relevant disciplines.
Range
Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonsia, Philippines to New Guinea.
Habitat
An upper canopy tree in undisturbed mixed dipterocarp, keranga and swamp forests; found on alluvial sites as well as dry hillsides and ridges; growing on sandy to clay soils, but also on limestone; at elevations up to 500 metres[
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
Properties
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Tree |
| Height | 35.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The wood is used for internal construction[
701- Title
- Asean Tropical Plant Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
].
There are a number of tree species (including this one) from Peninsular Malaysia that are in the family Lauraceae and produce a useful timber that is either not distinct enough in itself, or is in insufficient supply, to warrant being traded individually. These various species have been lumped together under the trade name ‘medang’[
701- Title
- Asean Tropical Plant Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
,
895- Title
- Timber Notes - Light Hardwoods II
- Publication
- Timber Technology Bulletin No. 10
- Author
- Gan K.S.; Lim S.C.; Choo K.T.
- Publisher
- Forest Research Institute; Malaysia
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 139-258
- Description
- Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving a brief guide to five lesser known groups of light hardwoods from southeast Asia. It is available in PDF format on the Internet.
].
We do not have a specific description of the wood from this species, but a general description of medang timber is as follows:-
The heartwood is very variable, from light-straw to red-brown and olive brown; the sapwood is ill-defined. The texture is moderately fine but even; the grain interlocked or wavy; the surface dull. The wood is not durable. It is easy to slightly difficult to resaw, and easy to moderately easy to cross-cut; easy to plane and the surface produced is smooth to moderately smooth. It is suitable for decorative work such as interior finishing, panelling, furniture and cabinet making. It is also suitable for plywood manufacture, whilst the heavier species are suitable for medium construction under cover[
895- Title
- Timber Notes - Light Hardwoods II
- Publication
- Timber Technology Bulletin No. 10
- Author
- Gan K.S.; Lim S.C.; Choo K.T.
- Publisher
- Forest Research Institute; Malaysia
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 139-258
- Description
- Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving a brief guide to five lesser known groups of light hardwoods from southeast Asia. It is available in PDF format on the Internet.
]
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
