Common Name:

General Information

Anisoptera marginata is a very large, evergreen tree with a relatively small, open crown; it can grow up to 51 metres tall. The bole can be up to 121cm in diameter, it has prominent, thick, rounded, tall straight buttresses[, ].
The tree is exploited from the wild for its timber, which is traded internationally as 'mersawa' timber[, ].
The tree is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - Malaysia, Borneo.

Habitat

An emergent tree in undisturbed forests with poor soils, at elevations up to 1,000 metres. Mostly found in alluvial sites (peat swamp, freshwater swamp), but occasionally on ridges in mixed dipterocarp or keranga forest[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Endangered
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	40.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the humid tropics.
Young trees grow better in the dappled shade of the forest floor, but older trees require more light. Found in the wild on rocky to sandy soils, including ultrabasic[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The tree is a source of dammar resin[].
Dammar is a hard resin, obtained from various trees of Southeast Asia. Traditionally, it is used for purposes such as caulking boats and baskets, as an adhesive, a medicine, as a fuel for torches and sometimes in foods. Dammar has many commercial applications, though many of these uses are less important nowadays due to the advent of synthetic materials. Commercially, it is an ingredient of inks, lacquers, oil paints, varnishes etc, and is used as a glazing agent in foods[].
Harvesting of the resin commences when the bole is around 25cm in diameter (approx 20 years old). Triangular cuts (becoming circular with age) are arranged in vertical rows around the trunk. The cuts are several centimetres wide at first, but become enlarged at every tapping and eventually become holes of 15 - 20cm in depth and width. The average number of holes for a tree about 30 metres tall and 60 - 80cm in diameter is 9 - 11 in each of 4 - 5 vertical rows. For the higher holes, the tapper climbs the tree supported by a rattan belt and using the lower holes as footholds.
The exuded resin is allowed to dry on the tree before it is collected. The frequency with which the tree is visited to refreshen the cut varies from once a week to once a month, depending on how far the tree is from the village. Tapping can continue for 30 years[].

The yellow wood is hard and durable but difficult to saw due to a high content of silica[, ]. It is used for the construction of houses[].
The wood is a source of the timber 'Mersawa'. We do not have any more specific information on this species, but the general description of mersawa is as follows:-
The heartwood is orange-yellow, darkening to golden brown with whitish resin veins present; it is not clearly demarcated from the 5 - 8cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain straight or interlocked. The wood is of light to moderate weight; it can be soft to fairly hard; somewhat durable being fairly resistant to termites but susceptible to fungi and dry wood borers. It seasons slowly with only a slight risk of distortion or checking; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. The wood contains silica and has a high blunting effect - stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; there is a tendency to tearing on quartersawn timber; nailing and screwing are good; gluing is correct. The wood has a range of uses including flooring, boxes and crates, interior panelling and joinery, turnery, veneer[].

Propagation

Seed -

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