Common Name: Entawak

General Information

Entawak is an evergreen mid-canopy tree; it can grow up to 45 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be up to 90cm in diameter with spreading buttresses up to 250cm high[, ].
The edible fruit is greatly appreciated in the plant's native range, where it is often harvested from the wild and also occasionally cultivated[]. The plant is also harvested from the wild for its wood, a source of 'keledang' timber, which is traded.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

Undisturbed or slightly disturbed mixed dipterocarp forests at elevations up to 700 metres[]. Found on alluvial sites near rivers and streams, but also on hillsides and ridges. In secondary forests usually present as a pre-disturbance remnant[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	30.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the humid tropics[].
Prefers a deep, well-drained soil[]. Plants are found in the wild on sandy to clay soils, also on limestone[]. Young plants need some shade, but need increasing light levels as they mature[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - delicious eaten out of hand, it has a bright orange flesh[]. A sweet flavour[]. The yellowish-brown, globose fruits are about 11cm long and 8cm in diameter, the spiny shell being filled with many seeds in a yellow orange flesh[, ].

Seeds[].

Medicinal

The leaves are burned, mixed with coconut oil and applied externally as a treatment for boils and itch[].

Other Uses

The bark is locally used as rope for backpacks[].

The yellow-brown wood is soft, coarse-grained, easily worked and durable[]. It is used for construction[].
The wood is a source of keledang timber[]. We have no further information for this species, but the general description of keledang is as follows:-
The heartwood is yellow-brown to orange-red, darkinging to golden brown; it is clearly demarcated from the 5 - 7cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain straight or interlocked; there is a lustrous, ribbon-like aspect. The wood is fairly heavy, fairly hard, durable, being moderately resistant to fungi and resistant to termites and dry wood borers. It seasons somewhat slowly with a high risk of distortion and a slight risk of checking; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. It has a fairly high blunting effect upon tools, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide are recommended; the surface is fibrous and filling is recommended; it takes screws and nails poorly; glues correctly. The wood is used for furniture, house building, turnery, light carpentry, interior joinery and panelling, boxes and crates, boats etc[]. It is used for making high class coffins in Malaysia[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe[]. The seed germinates best at a temperature of 24 - 27c[].
Root cuttings.
Air layering.

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