Common Name:

General Information

Hopea beccariana is a tree growing up to 46 metres tall. The bole can be 79cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its resin and good quality timber, which are used locally. The wood is an important source of 'heavy merawan' timber and is commonly traded.
The plant is classified as 'Critically Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

An upper canopy tree, widespread in forests on coastal hills and on deep soils on inland ridges (especially in Malaya), usually at low elevations but occasionally to 1,200 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Critically Endangered
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	35.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in the wild on hillsides and ridges with rocky to sandy-clayey soils[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A resin is obtained from the trunk[]. The tree is an important source of 'Dammar Resin'[].
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[].

Wood[]. An important source of 'heavy merawan' timber[]. No more information is given.

Although we have no more specific information about the wood of this species, the following description is for the timber group to which this species belongs:-
The heartwood is generally yellow when freshly cut, sometimes light brown with a greenish or purplish cast, darkening on exposure to a golden or red-brown; it is not clearly demarcated from the lighter-coloured sapwood. The texture is fine to medium and even; the grain usually interlocked; lustre is rather low; without distinctive odour or taste. Prominent vertical resin canals produce a conspicuous white streak. The wood is generally reported to be easy to work though somewhat difficult to saw; worked surfaces are smooth; turns easily and cleanly. Reported to be durable in contact with the ground and resistant to termite attack. It is used in general construction, boatbuilding, furniture components, flooring, railroad crossties, joinery, turnery[].

Propagation

Seed -

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