Hopea acuminata
Merr.
Dipterocarpaceae
This species is closely related to the widespread species Hopea sangal, which it replaces in the Philippines[
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
].
Common Name:
General Information
Hopea acuminata is a tree that can grow up to 35 metres tall. The bole is up to 70cm in diameter, often branching from low down[
701- Title
- Asean Tropical Plant Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood, which is used locally. A source of 'merawan' timber, the wood is also traded.
The plant's habitat has been greatly diminished by human activity. It is classified as 'Critically Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[
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 - Philippines.
Habitat
Common in evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests; usually at elevations from 300 - 800 metres, but sometimes descending to 100 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
,
701- Title
- Asean Tropical Plant Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
].
Properties
| Conservation Status | Critically Endangered |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Tree |
| Height | 28.00 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The lightweight merawan timber is used for the construction of bridges, ships and houses[
884- Title
- The World List of Threatened Trees
- Publication
-
- Author
- Oldfield S.; Lusty C.; and MacKinven A.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- World Conservation Press; Cambridge UK
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 1-899628-10 X
- Description
- A list of the trees on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plant Species in 1998, often giving some information on habitat and the reasons for being on the list. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
We do not have any more specific details about the wood of this species, but a general description of merawan timber is as follows:-
The heartwood is yellow-brown to chocolate reddish-brown, with an occasional dark striping; it is not clearly demarcated from the 5 - 7cm wide band of light yellow-brown sapwood. The texture is fine to medium; the grain straight or interlocked; lustre is rather low; without distinctive odour or taste. The wood is moderately heavy; moderately hard; moderately durable, being resistant to dry wood borers, moderately resistant to fungi but susceptible to termites. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. It can be worked with ordinary tools; it is moderately easy to resaw and cross-cut; planing is fairly easy and the surface produced is smooth; the wood tends to split when nailing or screwing and nail holding is poor; gluing is correct; there is some resistance to acids. The wood has a wide range of applications, for purposes such as light construction, door and window frames, carpentry, flooring, joinery, turnery and veneer[
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.
,
889- Title
- Timber Notes-MediumHardwoods III (Mata Ulat, Mempening, Mengkulang, Meransi, Merawan)
- Publication
- Timber Technology Bulletin No. 20
- Author
- Choo K.T.; Lim S.C.; Gan K.S.
- Website
- http://www.frim.gov.my/?page_id=1842
- Publisher
- Forest Research Institute; Malaysia
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
- 139-258
- Description
- Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving basic information on the properties of five types of hardwood timbers from southeast Asia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
Propagation
Seed -
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
