Common Name:

General Information

Pentaspadon motleyi is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 50 metres tall. The straight bole can be 70cm in diameter with buttresses up to 5 metres high, 4 metres outwards and 6cm thick[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for mainly local use as a food, medicine and source of wood. The wood is sometimes traded as ' pelajau' timber[].
The species is under great threat from habitat destruction in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, where it is considered to be Endangered. The situation is likely to be similar elsewhere. The plant is classified as 'Data Deficient' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Habitat

Lowland forest on the banks of rivers or streams, sometimes in seasonally inundated places, in swamp
forest, or in secondary forest, at elevations up to 75 metres, rarely up to 300 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Data Deficient
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	38.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The tree flowers twice a year, replacing its foliage at the same time[].

Edible Uses

The fruits are edible after boiling[]. The fruits can be eaten fresh or roasted[]. The fruits are fleshy drupes around 40mm long[].
The seeds are eaten fresh or roasted[].

Medicinal

The resin obtained from the stems is a counter-irritant, used to calm itchiness of the skin[].
An oil obtained from the plant is used for curing certain skin diseases[].

Other Uses

The wood contains an abundant oil (resin?[]) which is heavy and misty brown in colour and is said to resemble motor lubricating oil as used for cylinders. It is obtained from the plant by hacking a basin-like cavity in one side of the trunk and allowing the oil to drain slowly into it, exactly as damar is collected from Dipterocarpus trees. It is used mdicinally[].

The heartwood is light yellow-green, darkening to grey-green on exposure and not clearly defined from the sapwood which is white or light yellow[]. The wood is fairly hard and heavy, moderately durable. The texture is fine and even, the grain straight to interlocked. The wood is easy to resaw and cross-cut, planing is easy and the planed surface is smooth. It has poor nailing property. The wood is suitable for interior finishing, panelling, partitioning, moulding, skirting, flooring, veneer and plywood, and other planking works[].

Propagation

Seed -

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