4621

5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers

Syzygium gratum (Wight) S.N. Mitra

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

Indian Forester 99: 100 (1973).

Eugenia grata Wight (1841), Eugenia glaucicalyx Merr. (1906), Syzygium glaucicalyx (Merr.) Merr. (1951).

Philippines: mariig (Tagalog), kalaum (Culion), malaruhat (Laguna). Thailand: khraimet (Chiang Mai), sametchun (central), metchun (peninsular).

India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand and the Philippines.

The timber is used for construction of houses, ships and bridges, and for furniture and implements. Young shoots are eaten locally as a vegetable.

SUP> A medium-sized tree up to 20 m tall, bole branchless for up to 10 m and up to 80 cm in diameter; leaves variable in shape and size, ovate to lanceolate or narrowly elliptical, 5—11.5 cm 1.5—5 cm, with 10—15 pairs of secondary veins, petiole up to 10.5 mm long; flowers in axillary or terminal panicles, white, calyx 4—9.5 mm long, with 5 minute lobes; fruit globose, white. Syzygium gratum is a highly variable species and possibly closely allied to Syzygium zeylanicum. It occurs in the Philippines in primary forest up to 600 m altitude, in Thailand in dry evergreen and mixed deciduous forest up to 1400 m altitude. The supply of the timber in the Philippines is very limited. The wood is dark reddish-brown, heavy (c. 960 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content), hard and durable.

[90]Chantaranothai, P. & Parnell, J., 1994. A revision of Acnema, Cleistocalyx, Eugenia s.s. and Syzygium (Myrtaceae) in Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin 21: 1–123.
[414]Meniado, J.A. et al., 1975–1981. Wood identification handbook for Philippine timbers. 2 volumes. Government Printing Office, Manila. 370 pp. & 186 pp.
[426]Merrill, E.D., 1923–1926. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants. 4 volumes. Bureau of Printing, Manila.
[527]Reyes, L.J., 1938. Philippine woods. Technical Bulletin No 7. Commonwealth of the Philippines, Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 536 pp. + 88 plates.

R.H.M.J. Lemmens

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 1995. Syzygium gratum (Wight) S.N. Mitra. 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