Common Name:

General Information

Meliosma sumatrana is an evergreen tree with an irregular crown; it usually grows 15 - 20 metres tall, occasionally to 25 metres. The often crooked bole is up to 62cm in diameter, sometimes with small buttresses[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It has been recomended for use as a pioneer species in reforestation projects.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

An understorey tree in dense primary forest and more open, secondary growth in lowland and montane rain forest; by streams and on hilltops and ridges; on various soils, fertile and infertile, in dry to wet localities; at elevations to 2,200 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	17.50 m
Pollinators	Self
Self-fertile	Yes

Cultivation Details

The pollen ripens and the anther-cells burst while the flower is still in bud, but the pollen is still unable to escape from the anther-cells as these are locked in the cavities of the staminodes. When the bud is fully mature, it explodes at the slightest touch, the stamens snapping backwards and flinging a puff of pollen into the air. When the flower is open, petals and stamens, having done their duty, very soon drop off; hence in a Meliosma panicle almost only buds and passed flowers are found, but very few intact open flowers[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - edible[]. The pulp is eaten[]. It can be sweet or tasteless[]. The fruit is a drupe up to 21mm in diameter that becomes yellow with red or red when ripe with a white pulp that quickly turns blood-red on exposure, finally becoming black[, ].

Medicinal

The triturated bark and leaves are applied to wounds in order to clean them and are also used to soothe itchy skin[, ]. They are charred and put in water then used as a treatment against tympanites[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

The species has been proposed for reforestation purposes[].

Other Uses

Sapwood said to be whitish, yellowish, creamy orange, or brownish[].
The wood is said to be almost useless, though it is sometimes used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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