4552

5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers

Sterculia comosa Wallich

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Sterculia in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Pl. asiat. rar. 2: 25, pl. 127 (1831).

Sterculia keyensis K. Schumann (1891), Sterculia philippinensis Merr. (1904), Sterculia ramosii Merr. (1916).

Indonesia: bangilan, bingiladu (Sulawesi), kayu pani (Moluccas). Philippines: banilad (general), Ramos banilad (Filipino).

The Philippines, Sulawesi and the Moluccas.

The wood is used for light construction. The fibres from the bark are used to make ropes.

A medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 40 m tall, with bole up to 100 cm in diameter, bark surface smooth and brown, inner bark pale brown, twigs stout, c. 24 mm in diameter; leaves simple and entire, ovate, rarely suborbicular, 15—30(—40) cm 12—30(—40) cm, generally cordate at base, generally densely stellate or peltate-stellate appressed greyish hairy below, rarely glabrous, petiole 8—26 cm long, stipules caducous; inflorescence axillary or subterminal, paniculate, many-branched, erect; calyx with obconical or campanulate tube densely pubescent inside and 5 triangular or ligulate recurved lobes about as long as the tube, male flowers with 7—10 anthers; follicles 2—5, obovoid or oblong, c. 4.5 cm long, red; seed ellipsoid, c. 1.5 cm long, black. Sterculia comosa occurs in primary lowland forest, up to 700 m altitude, on clayey, sandy or rocky soils.

[125]de Guzman, E., Umali, R.M. & Sotalbo, E.D., 1986. Guide to the Philippine flora and fauna. Vol. 3: Dipterocarps, non-dipterocarps. Natural Resources Management Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources & University of the Philippines, Quezon City and Los Baños. xx + 414 pp.
[632]Tantra, I.G.M., 1976. A revision of the genus Sterculia L. in Malesia. Pengumuman No 102. Lembaga Penelitian Hutan, Bogor. 194 pp.

R.H.M.J. Lemmens

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 1995. Sterculia comosa Wallich. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Soerianegara, I. and Wong, W.C. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea