Koompassia excelsa
(Becc.) Taub.
Fabaceae
Abauria excelsa Becc.
Koompassia parviflora King
Common Name:
Because locals believe this tree to be haunted, it was spared from logging when converting virgin jungle into a palm oil estate.
Photograph by: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas
General Information
Koompassia excelsa is a deciduous tree; one of the tallest rainforest trees ever recorded, it usually grows up to 75 metres tall but specimens up to 88 metres tall have been reported. The straight, cylindrical bole is usually up to 100cm in diameter, though specimens up to 270cm have been recorded; it has steep, thick buttresses up to 12 metres high[
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
,
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
It is a useful timber species for heavy construction and is currently gaining importance in trade because of the shortage of heavy hardwood timbers[
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 tree also has local uses as a fod and medicine.
The trees are protected from cutting in Kalimantan because wild bees often build nests in the branches. It is also protected in Sarawak under the Wildlife Protection Bill of 1990. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' 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 - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.
Habitat
An emergent tree in lowland primary forest, growing on alluvial sites and hillsides, often on limestone; at elevations up to 300 metres[
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.
,
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
]. The trees are often fond remaining in areas of secondary growth because they are rarely felled[
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 Status | Least Concern |
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Deciduous Tree |
| Height | 70.00 m |
| Pollinators | Bees |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
The mature seeds have a bean-like flavour and are eaten raw[
892- Title
- Indigenous Edible Plants of Sabah
- Publication
- Forest Research Centre Publication No. 25
- Author
- Lee Y.F. & Gibot A.
- Publisher
- Forest Research Centre; Sabah, Malaysia.
- Year
- 1986
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of native edible plants in Sabah, Malaysia.
].
Medicinal
The bark is used medicinally[
402- Title
- Contribution to an evaluation of tree species using the new CITES Listing Criteria
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/species/tree_study/
- Publisher
- UNEP-WCMC; Cambridge.
- Year
- 1999
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A document produced by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in 1999. It contains fact sheets on more than 200 tree species from around the globe.
].
Agroforestry Uses:
Wild bees often build their nests in the tops of this tree, and so local people commonly harvest honey from them. For this reason, and also because the trees are hard to fell, the trees are traditionally left standing when the forest is cleared[
384- Title
- Strategies for the Sustaibable Use and Management of Timber Trees - SE Asia.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/timber/workshops/pdf/SEAsia_2007_V2.pdf
- Publisher
- UNEP; Cambridge, UK.
- Year
- 2007
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A draft document in PDF format, available on the Internet. It gives brief details on habitat, uses etc of over 100 species of trees from SE Aia.
].
Other Uses
The wood is used for heavy construction and furniture making[
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
,
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[
402- Title
- Contribution to an evaluation of tree species using the new CITES Listing Criteria
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/species/tree_study/
- Publisher
- UNEP-WCMC; Cambridge.
- Year
- 1999
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A document produced by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in 1999. It contains fact sheets on more than 200 tree species from around the globe.
,
653- Title
- Plants of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.asianplant.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
].
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
