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Useful Tropical Plants

Koompassia excelsa

(Becc.) Taub.

Fabaceae

+ Synonyms

Abauria excelsa Becc.

Koompassia parviflora King

Common Name:

Koompassia excelsa
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
Creative Commons License
Koompassia excelsa Koompassia excelsa Koompassia excelsa Koompassia excelsa Koompassia excelsa

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 StatusLeast Concern
Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitDeciduous Tree
Height70.00 m
PollinatorsBees
Cultivation StatusWild

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 -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-03. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Koompassia+excelsa>

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