Tree Fanatic

Tree Species

Isonandra utilis (Ridley) Baehni

Taxonomy

Properties

Botanic
A large tree up to 50 m tall with bole up to 1 m in diameter and buttresses up to 2 m high. Leaves closely clustered at tips of twigs, obovate to spatulate, 4-12.5(-18) cm x 1.5-6 cm, secondary veins joined in irregular arches near margin, glabrous and glaucous beneath, stipules up to 3 mm long, caducous Flowers with sepals yellowish-brown woolly outside and glabrous inside except near tips, 8-9-lobed corolla sparsely woolly outside and glabrous inside except between stamens, 10-16 stamens and glabrous ovary. Fruit ellipsoid to fusiform, 3.5-5.5 cm x 1.5-3 cm, with woody or fleshy pericarp, 1-seeded. Seed 3-4 cm long, with thin, brown testa and very large greyish scar, endosperm very thin or absent, cotyledons thick.
Biology
Monkeys have been observed to eat the seeds of M. utilis. Many seeds are destroyed in this way, but the ones dropped accidentally are dispersed over some distance.
Habitat
M. utilis is locally common, particularly in Peninsular Malaysia, in lowland primary forest; also found in swampy forest.

Cultivation and Marketing

Propagation
Seeds of M. utilis take 3-16 weeks to germinate.
Uses and Function
Lipids: The oil from the seeds is used locally in Sumatra for cooking. Timber: The timber is used as bitis, for heavy constructional work, paving blocks, agricultural implements and turnery.

Variable

Wood Density
3 rows
1.11.121.110015PROSEA Timber Tree, CD ROM series, ETI Biodiversity Center, World Biodiversity DatabasesMalaysia, Peninsular Malaysia
0.921.21.060015Soerjanegara and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors), 1994. PROSEA 5(1): Timber trees: Major commercial timbers.
0.960.9600Desch, H.E. 1996. Timber: structure, properties, conversion and use. 7th Edition. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.South-East Asia (tropical)
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Statistic Summary of Wood Density (g/cm³)

N
3
Mean
1.0433
Median
1.0600
Mode
-
Stdv
0.0764
Variance
0.0058
Range
[0.96, 1.11]
Cumulative Distribution Plot
  • If the Moisture Content column is undefined, you may assume the value of 15%
  • The statistic summary is based on data availability in the database, thus it may change upon the data collection updates

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