Koordersiodendron pinnatum (Blanco) Merr.

Koordersiodendron pinnatum (Blanco) Merr.

Family

Anacardiaceae

Synonyms

K. celebicum Engl., Lannea speciosa (Blume) Engl. ex Perk.

Vernacular Names

Indonesia
tabu hitam (Kalimantan), kayu bugis, bugis (Sulawesi), grepau (Irian Jaya).
Philippines amugis (general), dangila (Tagalog), karogkog (Bikol).

Geographical Distributions

Koordersiodendron consists of a single species and is widely distributed throughout the Philippines, the northern part of Borneo, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and the northern part of Irian Jaya.

Description

K. pinnatum is a large and evergreen tree up to measure 50 m tall. The bole is cylindrical, branchless for up to measure about 25(-30) m, up to measuring 80(-200) cm in diametre and sometimes with buttresses up to measure 2 m high. The bark surface is usually deeply fissured, dark brown or black in colour, laminated inner bark, fibrous, pink to red and with a little colourless exudates. The crown is dense and dark green.

The leaves are arranged spirally, crowded at the end of twigs, imparipinnate, with a size of measure 50-80 cm long, with (6-)10-16 pairs of leaflets, hairy rachis and exstipulate. The leaflets are subopposite, ovate-oblong to narrowly oblong in shape , with a size of measure 3-20 cm x 1.5-5.5 cm, entire, slightly asymmetrical at the base, acuminate, with 10-24 pairs of usually bright red secondary veins, glossy green above, yellowish-green below, glabrescent, with short petiolule and without domatia.

The flowers are in an axillary panicle that up to measure 50 cm long, bisexual, actinomorphic, with 5-merous, small and white or yellowish-green in colour. The sepals unite at the base while the lobes are measure 0.7-1 mm long. The petals are free, imbricate and measuring 2-3 mm long. There are 10 hairless stamens and nearly spherical anthers. The ovary is superior, sessile, nearly spherical, deeply longitudinally 5-furrowed, densely hairy, 5-celled, usually with one fertile cell and one ovule per cell and with 5 short styles. The disk is intrastaminal, round and flat and with 10-notched.

The measuring about 2.5-4 cm long fruit is a 1(-3)-celled drupe, broadly ellipsoid in shape, obtuse at both ends, yellowish when ripe and with cartilaginous endocarp.

The seed is ellipsoid in shape, with the free testa from the endocarp. The cotyledons are free and plano-convex. Seedling is with epigeal and cryptocotylar germination. The cotyledons are succulent, enclosed by the persistent, dark brown, cracking and fibrous fruit wall. The first 2 leaves are arranged opposite and compound while the subsequent leaves are arranged spirally.

Ecology / Cultivation

K. pinnatum occurs in humid evergreen lowland forest, but in the Philippines it is reported to be found mainly on the fringes of lowland forest, from near the beach up to 450(-800) m altitude. It is widespread but occurs scattered and almost nowhere abundant. It is occasionally found in inundated locations. It prefers loamy soils. On the island of Seram (the Moluccas), K. pinnatum occurs as an emergent tree over 45 m tall, with an average of 3.3 trees over 50 cm diameter at breast height per ha in a forest type dominated by Canarium vulgare Leenh. In Irian Jaya, it is found on forest fringes along the beach and associated with Celtis philippensis Blanco, Vitex quinata (Lour.) F.N. Williams, Canarium asperum Benth. and Trichadenia philippinensis Merr. on well-drained soils containing gravel and boulders.

Line Drawing / Photograph

Koordersiodendron_pinnatum

References

  1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers.