Common Name:

General Information

Endospermum macrophyllum is a tree with a crown that is usually compact and small; it can grow from 12 - 35 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be free of branches for up to 15 metres and up to 150cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood, which is usd locally and considered a valuable timber in Fiji[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Pacific - Fiji.

Habitat

Often locally abundant in dense forest, sometimes in thickets near mangrove swamps; at elevations from sea level to 900 metres[]..

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The tree flowers and produces fruits in most months of the year in Fiji[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The tree exudes a copious and nearly colourless latex[].

The whitish wood is soft. It is considered valuable for building purposes, but is more commonly used for making banana crates[].
We do not have any more information on the wood for this species. However, a general description of the wood for the southeast Asian and Pacific members of this genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is light brown, straw, or pale cream in colour; it is not differentiated from the sapwood. The texture is rather coarse; the grain straight to shallowly interlocked; somewhat lustrous; there is no distinctive odour or taste. The wood is not durable, and is particularly prone to stain and powder-post beetle attack. It dries rapidly with only slight warping and checking, though if tension wood is not discarded the warp is severe. The wood machines easily in both the green and dry condition, though surfaces may be slightly woolly when sawn; it can be peeled for veneer without prior heating. The wood is used for purposes such as joinery, matches, pattermnaking, boxes and crates, furniture components, plywood, light construction, carvings, wooden shoes[].

Propagation

Seed -

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