Common Name:

General Information

Canarium littorale is an evergreen tree, usually growing from 10 - 30 metres tall, though it can be more shrub-like and only 3 metres tall, whilst occasional specimens to 44 metres have also been recorded. The bole is usually 20 - 70cm in diameter, occasionally to 100cm, and sometimes buttressed[, ].
Trees are harvested in the wild for their resin, which is used locally, and for their wood, which is used locally and also traded[, ].
The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Secondary forest, especially on periodically flooded sandy alluvium[]. Rain-forests, on dry or swampy soils, under everwet or subseasonal conditions, mostly at low elevations, rarely to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
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

The resin is said to be sought after in China as a remedy for itchy skin[].

Other Uses

The tree is a source of resin that can be used as dammar. It has been recommended for making varnishes[]. 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 rather soft. It is an important source of kedondong timber, which is used in house construction[, ].
Kedondong timber is obtained from several Canarium species. Its general characteristics are as follows:-
This species is one of the sources of kedondong timber, which is obtained from several species in the family Burseraceae. We do not have a specific description of the wood for this species, but the general description of kedondong wood is as follows:-
The heartwood is generally a light brown; it is not sharply demarcated from the 3 - 5cm wide band of lighter-coloured sapwood. The texture is moderately fine and even; the grain is interlocked to wavy; the surface is lustrous. The wood is light in weight; moderately hard; not very durable, being susceptible to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons somewhat slowly with only a slight risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. The wood has a fairly high blunting effect, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; it is moderately easy to slightly difficult to plane; finishes smooth to rough; can be easy to very difficult to bore; slightly difficult to difficult to turn; nailing and screwing properties are good; gluing is correct. The wood is suitable for internal use as a general utility timber for planking, cladding, plywood, flooring, furniture, packing cases, pallets and general carpentry work[, ].

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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