Common Name:

General Information

Canarium hirsutum is a tree that usually grows from 10 - 25 metres tall, with occasionaly specimens to 48 metres recorded. The straight bole can be 20 - 60cm in diameter, exceptionally to 200cm, sometimes with very small buttresses[, , ].
The plant produces a hard resin, which is harvested from wild trees for local use[]. The plant also has local medicinal uses.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Habitat

Rather common in dense primary forest, rarely in the more open, secondary formations; growing in wet to dry localities, mostly at low elevations but rarely ascending to 1,800 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	20.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the roots is used in the treatment of stomach troubles[].

Other Uses

The tree is the source of Dammar Sengai, one of the hardest Malayan resins, used for varnishes[]. The resin is produced rather abundantly[].
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 wood is said to be soft to rather hard[].
The wood of most species in the genus Canarium is usually soft to moderately hard and probably not very durable in exposed positions. It is not, therefore of any great commercial value and is only used locally or not at all[].

Propagation

Seed - we have no specific information for this species but seeds of this genus generally have a hard seed coat and germinate erratically. Filing away some of the seed coat to allow moisture to enter more readily, without damaging the seed, will encourage a faster and more even germination[].

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