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Useful Tropical Plants

Canarium littorale

Blume

Burseraceae

+ Synonyms

Canarium acutum Engl.

Canarium bennettii Engl.

Canarium flavum Ridl.

Canarium giganteum Engl.

Canarium glaucum Blume

Canarium pruinosum Engl.

Canarium pseudocommune Hochr.

Canarium purpurascens A.W.Benn.

Canarium rufum A.W.Benn.

Canarium secundum A.W.Benn.

Canarium serricuspe Miq.

Canarium serrulatum Miq.

Canarium tomentosum Blume

Rhus melintangensis Korth. ex Blume

Common Name:

Canarium littorale
Leaves
Photograph by: loupok
Creative Commons License

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[
334
Title
Flora of Peninsula Malaysia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.tfbc.frim.gov.my
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
In the process of being assembled (15/07/09), it is currently a series of check sheets giving species name, brief description, habitat and high quality photos of the plants.
,
451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
].
Trees are harvested in the wild for their resin, which is used locally, and for their wood, which is used locally and also traded[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet

Range

Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Secondary forest, especially on periodically flooded sandy alluvium[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
]. Rain-forests, on dry or swampy soils, under everwet or subseasonal conditions, mostly at low elevations, rarely to 2,000 metres[
451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
].

Properties

Conservation StatusLeast Concern
Medicinal Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitTree
Height20.00 m
Self-fertileNo
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details



A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[
451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The resin is said to be sought after in China as a remedy for itchy skin[
451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
].

Other Uses

The tree is a source of resin that can be used as dammar. It has been recommended for making varnishes[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. 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[
891
Title
Gums, Resins and Latexes of Plant Origins.
Publication
Non-Wood Forest Products 6.
Author
Coppen J.J.W.
Website
http://www.fao.org/docrep/
Publisher
FAO, United Nations; Rome
Year
1995
ISBN
92-5-103757-4
Description
A handbook published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, it provides good basic information on the sources and uses of the various gums, resins and latexes. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
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[
891
Title
Gums, Resins and Latexes of Plant Origins.
Publication
Non-Wood Forest Products 6.
Author
Coppen J.J.W.
Website
http://www.fao.org/docrep/
Publisher
FAO, United Nations; Rome
Year
1995
ISBN
92-5-103757-4
Description
A handbook published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, it provides good basic information on the sources and uses of the various gums, resins and latexes. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

The wood is rather soft. It is an important source of kedondong timber, which is used in house construction[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
,
451
Title
Flora Malesiana Series 1
Publication
 
Author
Various
Website
http://www.archive.org
Publisher
Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
].
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[
316
Title
Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
Publication
 
Author
Chudnoff. Martin.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
Year
1984
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
,
848
Title
Tropix 7
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://tropix.cirad.fr/en
Publisher
CIRAD
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
].

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[
658
Title
Food Plants of Papua New Guinea
Publication
 
Author
French. B.R.
Publisher
Author.
Year
2006
ISBN
 
Description
Published on-line in PDF format, this book contains information on several hundred New Guinea food plants.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-07. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Canarium+littorale>

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