Gnetum gnemon
belinjau, meninjau
Cultivated, seasonal, most likely introduced from eastern Indonesia.
Fruit edible, seed roasted, flattened, dried and fried for empeng
crackers.
Family Gnetaceae
Plant Lists
Family Gentianaceae
Fagraea crenulata
malabera
W. coast, in swampy ground. Med tree to 23m, 1.5m girth, crown big
leafed, open, flat topped with stiff spreading branches. Minutely
toothed leaves. Terminal inflorescence, cream flowers, corolla thick,
stamens not projecting from tube.
Fagraea fragrans
tembusu padang
Lwr. Burma, Malesia to New Guinea. In open and swampy lowlands. To
30m, terminalia branches have upturned ends. Irregular fissured bark.
Fine leafed crown, conical when young. White fragrant flowers 4 months
after dry season, then red berries, seeds dispersed by bats.
Fagraea racemosa
kopi kopi
Malesia to northern Australia, Solomon Islands. Shrub to small tree, or straggling climber. Frequent in secondary forests, sometimes in wet places.
Family Fagaceae
Castanopsis inermis
berangan
All states except Malacca. Sumatra. Fruit can be eaten after cooking. The flowers smell of rancid fat like those of wild cinnamon, their nectar attracting many insects.
Castanopsis megacarpa
gertak tangga
Common in lowlands of Malaya, except for Penang, Perlis. Borneo. Malay name from the creaking
of the house ladder, when one has been so unfortunate to have eaten
the chestnut-like but poisonous fruit. Med tree to 25m, bole hooped, buttresses rare. Stipule acorn shaped, cupules to 3″ dia covered w/close branching spines.
Lithocarpus eichleri
mempening
Perak, Selangor, Johor. Sumatra. Often in swamps. Rare. 8-15 pairs secondary nerves, tertiaries ladder like. Cupule saucer shaped.
Fr Tunas Harapan 6.2012.
Lithocarpus elegans
mempening
India, Indo-China, Malesia. Wide ranging, variable sp., shiny fawn
leaves, glabrous, same colour on both sides. Common on degraded sites.
Distinct from Quercus by erect spikes, thick leaf stalk, entire leaf
margins.
Lithocarpus lucidus
mempening
Sumatra, Borneo, all states Malaya. Common. Lat. fr. shiny acorns
and leaves. Big tree to 50m, bole often fluted, plank buttresses.
Big acorns.
Lithocarpus maingayi
mempening
Endemic in Malaya, in hill forest above 1,000 ft. Cupule completely encloses fruit. Fr Tunas Harapan 6.2012
Lithocarpus rassa
rasa
Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo. To 25m, but shorter with increasing altitude. Leaf blade 1-5″ long; fruit spikes up to 3″ long; cup half inch wide, broader than long. From mountains to coast.
Lithocarpus wallichianus
mempening
Gr. lithos-stone, carpos-fruit. Big tree, Peninsula Siam, Malaya, Sumatra. Flat cup shaped fruit encases acorn. Distinguished from Quercus by erect spikes, leaf stalk thickening, entire leaf margins, bisexual inflorescences.
Quercus gemelliflora
mempening
Lat. oak. Sumatra, Borneo, Malaya exc. Perlis. Terminal buds in rows of scales, leaves spiral margin toothed, esp. towards apex. 400 spp. in tropics and north temp., Malaya 8 spp. This sp. underside of leaves glabrous. Tree to 30m. Bole oft. fluted & hooped. 2m buttresses steep & thick.
Quercus spp.
mempening
Oak, 400spp world wide, 8 in Malaya where they are forest trees that seldom reach the canopy. Distinguished by acorns.
Family Euphorbiaceae
Botryophora geniculata
Gapis miang / putat miang
Burma, Siam, Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo, Perak, Kelantan, Selangor, Pahang, Johor.
Small tree to 12m. No close relatives peculiar stamens, leaves like Sterculaiceae. Fruit woody capsule. Packed tight in a dense mass.
From Tunas Harapan 11.09
Croton argyratus
Burma to Moluku. A remarkable genus in Malaya w/ common species and others v. rare endemics. Tree to 18m, common through Malaya. Similar to balek angin, but not scurfy. (The widely cultivated garden ‘Croton’ is Codiaeum variegatum.)
Drypetes pendula
lidah lidah
Lat. hanging, leafy branches. Common in Malaya, low undulating land. Monopodial tree to 20m, 1m girth, deep dark pyramidal crown, leafy branches drooping, sinuous. Leaves lying flat, spirally attached, young in purple red tassels.
Elateriospermum tapos
perah
Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo. Copious white sticky latex in bark, leaves and fruit stalks. Long slender leaf stalk kneed at top. Bark sloughs to leave scroll-marks. Crown deeply conical, briefly deciduous. Young leaves bright red, in flushes. Edible seeds induce dizziness.
Emblica officinalis
melaka
SE Asia, frequent in villages and lowland forest. Cooked fruits eaten as a sour relish. Bark is used for tanning and dyeing. Leaves, roots and raw fruits are medicinal & rich in vitamin C. Slow growing to 20 m. Burkill states the name of the river and town is believed to have come from this tree & that origin is Sanskrit.
Pimelodendron griffithianum
perah ikan
Malaya, Borneo. Common in all states exc Perlis, Kedah and Penang. Locally abundant as in Bt. Lagong FR. To 21 m, leaves crowded at twig tips, oblong obovate suddenly narrow to protruding tip. Yellow flowers on racemes crowded on twigs behind leaves. Fruits round to 5cm, shiny green, ripening yellow, at first tipped by persistent style.
Family Ericaceae
Vaccinium bracteatum
Burma to Japan, Sumatra to Java. Small tree to 6m on sandy coasts Singapore to Kelantan. Leaves often with basal marginal gland on each side of midrib. Fruit edible but insipid. Cranberry genus. Rompin 004. TH 6.2012.
Family Eleocarpaceae
Elaeocarpus mastersii
mendong
About 200 spp., Indo- Pacific, 27 in Malaya. Shrub or small tree, common throughout Malaya in secondary and primary forests.
Elaeocarpus stipularis
mendong, medang kelawar
Burma to Indo-China, Java, Borneo, Philippines, Bali. Med. tree to 30m, 2m girth, sm. buttresses. V. common in secondary and primary forests fr. seasonal swamps to 1,200m. Lat. having stipules.
Elaeocarpus sp.
mendong
About 200 spp., Indo- Pacific, 27 in Malaya. Shrub or small tree, common throughout Malaya in secondary and primary forests.
Family Ebenaceae
Diospyros confertiflora
kayu arang
Malaya, Borneo, Sumatra, Bangka. Medium tree to 27m and 1.3m girth. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry with fibrous to fleshy pericarp, ovoid and curved to one side.
Diospyros diepenhorstii
kayu arang
Malaya, Thailand, Borneo, Sumatra, Philippines. Uncommon, scattered in lowland forest. Small tree to 17m. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry with fibrous to fleshy pericarp.
Diospyros discolor
buah mentega
Native to Philippines. Twigs velvety, Occasionally cultivated in Malaya
for edible fruits. Separate male and female flowers, fruit a berry
with fibrous to fleshy pericarp. (Lat. having many colours).
Diospyros sp.
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
70 spp. in Malaya, in all habitats exc. mangroves. An extraordinary 22 spp. endemic, this one not yet described. Fruits of several used as fish poison.
Diospyros sp (ismailii?)
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
Trees without latex, black bark; terminalia like Myristicaceae, but no red sap in bark. >70 spp in Malaya, many endemic. Some w edible fruit, berry w fibrous-fleshy pericarp.
Diospyros ‘kluang’
kayu arang, buey, tuba buah
70 spp. in Malaya, in all habitats exc. mangroves. An extraordinary 22 spp endemic, this sp. as yet undescribed. Fruits of several used as fish poison.
Family Dilleniaceae
Dillenia grandifolia
simpoh
Ten species in Malaya. Cut wood hisses loudly, twigs leave prominent horse-shoe shaped leaf scars. Large tree, deciduous after dry weather, buttresses merge into stilts. Flowers without petals. All states but Perlis. Sumatra, Borneo.
Dillenia philippinensis
simpoh
Philippines. (J.J. Dillenius, 1684-1747, German botanist, professor at Oxford). Flowers large, solitary, petals falling first day, fruit covered by thick fleshy edible sepals that make cough syrup & shampoo. Bark yields a red dye.
Dillenia reticulata
simpoh gajah
Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo. To 40m ht & 3m girth. Flowers, 7cm, at end of leafless twig or with new leaves, petals yellow. Leaf base broadly tapering to round or heart shaped; 16-45 prs secondary nerves & fine tertiary network, raised on under surface, covered with velvety hairs.
Dillenia suffruticosa
simpoh air
Large evergreen shrub to 7m, often forming thickets. Common in secondary forests, esp. swampy ground, most in the south. Flowers continuously, each open for just a day. Fruit ripe in 36 days.
Dillenia sp.
simpoh
Ten species in Malaya. Bark rich orange brown, large white flowers, edible fruits, dispersed by elephants or water. From India to W. Malesia, often near streams.
Family Cornaceae
Alangium kurzii
mentulang
Burma to Java, Indo China, China. From Kedah to NS, only west coast, to 15m w/ short buttresses. Lowland forest. Soft dense tomentum under leaf. One genus family in Old World tropics, temperate Asia to Aust. 7spp. in Malaya of 21 total.
Alangium ridleyi
mentulang daun lebar
Endemic. All states exc. Kelantan and Johor, big tree to 40m and 2m girth. Flower calyx deeply ridged, petals fleshy if fresh, fruits ovoid with 12 ridges, seeds with white translucent juicy aril.
Family Coniferae
Nageia motleyi
podo kebal musang gunung
From E India through Malesia. Highlands, not common, solitary. To 40m straight no buttresses. Terminal bud conical, pointed. Leaves in 2 ranks, opposite or sub-opp.
