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Useful Tropical Plants

Palaquium leiocarpum

Boerl.

Sapotaceae

+ Synonyms

Croixia leiocarpa (Boerl.) Baehni

Palaquium molle Pierre ex Becc.

Common Name: Jongkang

No Image.

General Information

Palaquium leiocarpum is an evergreen tree growing up to 35 metres tall[
334
Title
Flora of Peninsula Malaysia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.tfbc.frim.gov.my
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
In the process of being assembled (15/07/09), it is currently a series of check sheets giving species name, brief description, habitat and high quality photos of the plants.
]. The bole is straight and cylindrical.
The tree is harvested from the wild for its latex and also for its wood, which is traded as 'Nyatoh'[
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.
].
Palaquium leiocarpum has a wide range and, even though some collections have been made in protected areas there are threats to the habitat. There has been over 17% tree cover loss within its range 2000 - 2016 and, based on this there is a projected continuing decline in the extent and quality of habitat and a suspected population decline. These would most likely be much greater if calculated over three generation lengths (60-150 years) rather than 16 years and may be close to the threshold for Vulnerable. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2018)[
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

899
Title
Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6
Publication
 
Author
Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors)
Publisher
Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur.
Year
2002
ISBN
983-2181-27-5
Description
A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.

Range

Southeast Asia - western and central Malaysia.

Habitat

Lowland freshwater swamp, kerangas and dipterocarp forest[
334
Title
Flora of Peninsula Malaysia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.tfbc.frim.gov.my
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
In the process of being assembled (15/07/09), it is currently a series of check sheets giving species name, brief description, habitat and high quality photos of the plants.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusNear Threatened
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height30.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The tree is a source of gutta-percha[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. It is considered to be inferior to the gutta percha obtained from Palaquium gutta and some other species, and so is more commonly used to adultuerate the superior forms[
899
Title
Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6
Publication
 
Author
Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors)
Publisher
Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur.
Year
2002
ISBN
983-2181-27-5
Description
A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.
].
Gutta-percha is a natural latex obtained from the sap of the tree. Allowing this fluid to evaporate and coagulate in the sun produces a hard, durable, non-brittle but non-elastic latex which can be made flexible again when heated to temperatures over 50°c, and then retains any form given while cooling. Prior to the advent of synthetic materials, gutta-percha had a wide range of uses - most particularly as an insulating material for electricity wiring and for underwater telegraph wires, a purpose for which it is very well suited since it is bio-inert and so is not attacked by marine plants or animals. Gutta-percha can be moulded into any shape and has been used to make items such as ornate furniture, pistol grips, acid-resistant receptacles and ‘mourning’ jewellery, where its dark colour was an advantage. It has been widely used as the core of golf balls and is still used in modern dentistry where its bio-inertness makes it ideal as a temporary filling for teeth and as a filling material inside tooth fillings[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
,
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. It is used locally for fixing tools into their handles[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Wood[
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.
].
We do not have any more specific information on the wood of this species, but it belongs to a group of timbers collectively called 'Nyatoh'[
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 general description of nyatoh wood is as follows:-
The heartwood is a dark pink to a red-brown; it is clearly demarcated from the 4 - 9cm wide band of lighter-coloured sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked, sometimes wavy. The wood is light in weight, soft to moderately hard; strong, somewhat durable, being resistant to dry wood borers, moderately resistant to fungi but susceptible to termites. It seasons somewhat slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is stable in service. There is a very variable content of silica according to the species, but in general the wood has a high blunting effect so stellite-tipped and tungsten-carbide tools are recommended; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct. The wood has a range of applications, including for high class furniture and cabinet making, solid doors, panelling, joinery, parquet flooring, boat decking, light carpentry, turnery, moulding and veneer[
848
Title
Tropix 7
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://tropix.cirad.fr/en
Publisher
CIRAD
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
,
996
Title
A Dictionary of Malaysian Timbers
Publication
Malayan Forest Records No. 30
Author
Wong T.M.
Website
http://Elaeocarpaceae
Publisher
Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur
Year
2002
ISBN
983-2181-29-1
Description
A fairly comprehensive guide to Malaysian timbers, giving their properties and the main tree species from which they are obtained.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-13. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Palaquium+leiocarpum>

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