The species name is spelled Hopea mengerawan in some of the literature[].

Common Name:

General Information

Hopea mengarawan is a medium-sized to large tree of up to 40 - 60 metres tall[]. Its prominently buttressed bole, which is around 1 metre in diameter, is branchless for up to 25 metres, and sometimes even more[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use of its resin and good quality wood[]. The wood is a source of 'merawan' timber and is commonly harvested from the wild and traded.
The tree is classified as 'Critically Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2010)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

An upper canopy tree in forests, where it occurs locally, scattered or sometimes gregariously on low-lying, often swampy or periodically inundated land and also on low hills up to elevations of 500 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Critically Endangered
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	40.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Usually found on ridges and hillsides with poor sandy to clayey soils in the wild, also on ultrabasic[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

Because of its good prospects the plant is recommended in Indonesia for reforestation programmes[].

Other Uses

The bole exudes a clear, yellow resin[]. It produces a dammar which is considered of good quality in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia[].
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 tree is an important source of merawan timber[]. Graveyard tests with stakes in Malaysia showed an average life in contact with the ground in Indonesia up to 7.5 years[].
The bark is used for roofing traditional houses[].

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 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[, , ].

Propagation

Seed -

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