Palaquium semaram
H. J. Lam
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds - oil
Oil is extracted from the seeds.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It is often in lowland marshy places up to 500 m above sea level.
Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nicobar, SE Asia,
How to Identify
A large tree. It grows 50 m tall. The first branches may be over 25 m above the ground. The trunk is 90 cm across. It has large buttresses. The leaves are densely clustered at the ends of the twigs. The flowers are in clusters of 2-9. The fruit is oval and 2.5-3.5 cm long.
Other Uses
Wood. 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'. 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.
Names & Synonyms
Balam hitam, Balam seminai, Lakis bukit daub kebar, Nyatoh semaram, Semaram
References (2)
- PROSEA
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
