4746

5(2): Timber trees; Minor commercial timbers

Vitex parviflora A.L. Juss.

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

Ann. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris 7: 76 (1806).

Vitex littoralis Decne. (1834), Vitex timoriensis Walp. (1845).

Indonesia: kayu kula, fuli kaa (Timor). Philippines: molave, amugauan, sagat (general).

The Philippines, Sulawesi, Timor, the Moluccas; possibly also Sabah and Java; planted in Central America.

The timber is used in the Philippines for numerous purposes such as house building (both outside and inside), ship building and carving. The trees are planted in reforestation projects in the Philippines. The bark and wood are used in local medicine, as a styptic, emetic and antitoxic and to treat jaundice and dropsy. The leaves are used as a fodder.

A medium-sized to fairly large tree, up to 30(—38) m tall, bole up to 125(—200) cm in diameter and branchless for up to 20 m, but often much shorter and crooked, with buttresses; leaves 3-foliolate, leaflets glabrous below; inflorescence terminal and in the upper leaf axils, paniculate, rather lax; calyx lobes absent or indistinct, corolla bluish; fruit subglobose, c. 5 mm in diameter, bluish-black when mature. Vitex parviflora was widely distributed and common in secondary and open primary forest in the Philippines, but it has been depleted due to logging and shifting cultivation. The density of the wood is about 940 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content; the wood is hard and durable. See also the table on wood properties.

[6]Abraham, F.P., 1959. Preparation of local volume table for molave (Vitex parviflora Juss.). Philippine Journal of Forestry 15(1–4): 87–93.
[8]Aguilar, L., 1941. Relative durability of untreated Philippine woods. Philippine Journal of Forestry 4(3): 247–255.
[11]Albay, J., 1983. Plantation establishment methods and techniques in the Philippines. In: Te Aho, T. & Hosking, M.R. (Editors): Workshop on nursery and plantation practices in the ASEAN, 3–7 October 1983, Jakarta. New Zealand Forest Service, Wellington. pp. 259–278.
[84]Carmona, R.C., 1983. Livestock feeds from molave. Canopy International 9(8): 9.
[115]Dahms, K.-G., 1982. Asiatische, ozeanische und australische Exporthölzer [Asiatic, Pacific and Australian export timbers]. DRW-Verlag, Stuttgart. 304 pp.
[124]de Guzman, E.D., 1975. Conservation of vanishing timber species in the Philippines. In: Williams, J.T., Lamoureux, C.H. & Wulijarni- Soetjipto, N. (Editors): South East Asian plant genetic resources. Proceedings of a Symposium on South East Asian Plant Genetic Resources held at Kopo, Cisarua, 20–22 March 1975. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, SEAMEO Regional Center for Tropical Biology/BIOTROP, Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pertanian and Lembaga Biologi Nasional – LIPI, Bogor. pp. 198–204.
[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.
[133]de Mesa, A., 1939. Molave and its carpenter moth enemy. Philippine Journal of Forestry 2: 45–56.
[174]Foxworthy, F.W., 1907. Philippine woods. Philippine Journal of Science, Section C. Botany 2(5): 351–404.
[187]Garcia, M.U., 1980. Effect of pericarp removal on the germination of molave (Vitex parviflora Juss.) seeds. Sylvatrop 5(1): 61–66.
[234]Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlands-Indid [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd edition, 3 volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch-Indid, 's-Gravenhage. 1953 pp.
[341]Lam, H.J., 1919. The Verbenaceae of the Malayan Archipelago, together with those from the Malayan Peninsula, the Philippines, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Palau-, Marianne- and Caroline-Islands. M. de Waal, Groningen. 370 pp. + 3 plates.
[344]Lam, H.J. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1921. Revision of the Verbenaceae of the Dutch East Indies and surrounding countries. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, STrie III, 3: 1–116.
[348]Lamprecht, H., 1989. Silviculture in the tropics; tropical forest ecosystems and their tree species, possibilities and methods for their long-term utilization. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn. 296 pp
[349]Lansigan, N.P., 1948. The Talissay-Minghanilla reforestation work. Philippine Journal of Forestry 4(2): 171–185.
[358]Leafblade, C.F., 1981. Basic research to explain why depulping of molave seeds enhances their germination. Canopy International 7(10): 10– 11.
[407]Maun, M.M., 1960. Silvical characteristics of molave (Vitex parviflora Juss.). Philippine Journal of Forestry 16(1–2): 95–110.
[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.
[442]Moldenke, H.N., 1957. Materials toward a monograph of the genus Vitex VIII. Phytologia 6(1): 13–69.
[514]Quisumbing, E., 1960. The vanishing species of plants in the Philippines. In: Symposium on the impact of man on humid tropics vegetation. Goroka, Territory of Papua and New Guinea, September 1960. pp. 344–349.
[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.
[690]Weidelt, H.J. (Editor), 1976. Manual of reforestation and erosion control for the Philippines. Schriftenreihe No 22. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn. 569 pp.
[698]Whitford, H.N., 1911. The forests of the Philippines. Part II: the principal forest trees. Bulletin No 10. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Forestry. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 113 pp.

R.H.M.J. Lemmens

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 1995. Vitex parviflora A.L. Juss.. 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