5662

5(3): Timber trees; Lesser-known timbers

Kalappia Kosterm.

Reinwardtia 1: 451 (1952).

LEGUMINOSAE

x = unknown; 2n = unknown

Indonesia: kalapi, nanakulahi, palapi (South Sulawesi).

Kalappia is a monotypic genus occurring in South Sulawesi. The only species is K. celebica Kosterm.

The wood of K. celebica is used for light construction (e.g. posts), flooring, fitting, panelling, ceiling and bridge and ship building. A form with a beautiful grain pattern used to be much sought after for cabinet work and furniture.

In the first half of the 20th Century considerable amounts of Kalappia timber were transported from the surroundings of Malili and Wotu (South Sulawesi), where K. celebica was common, to Ujung Pandang, where it was processed. At present, the supplies are probably very limited; no trade statistics are known.

K. celebica yields a medium-weight hardwood with a density of 590-710 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. Heartwood brown, sharply differentiated from the 3-5 cm wide pale brown sapwood. Growth rings absent; vessels large and few, solitary and in radial multiples of 2-4, with occasional deposits; parenchyma paratracheal aliform to confluent, and apotracheal in marginal or seemingly marginal bands; rays very fine to medium-sized; ripple marks present.
The wood is fairly strong. The heartwood is durable in contact with the ground; the sapwood is very perishable.
See also the table on microscopic wood anatomy.

A fairly large tree up to 40 m tall; bole straight, branchless for up to 20 m, up to 90 cm in diameter, with buttresses up to 3 m high; bark surface fissured, rather rough, flaking off, rusty brown, inner bark pinkish-red, whitish inside; crown thin in old specimens, with numerous sub-crowns. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate, with (2-)5(-6) alternating, lanceolate to elliptical and stalked leaflets, conspicuously areolate; stipules absent. Flowers in an axillary or subterminal paniculate inflorescence, pedicelled, 5-merous; sepals densely silky outside; petals thin, 2 outer larger than 3 inner, clawed, with numerous veins, orange-yellow; fertile stamens 5, anthers opening by an apical pore, staminodes (2-)4; ovary superior, sessile, densely silky, style short, stigma minute. Fruit a flat, glabrous, reddish-brown, dehiscent pod, narrowly winged at ventral side, 1(-3)-seeded. Seed disk-like, with leathery testa; cotyledons thin.
K. celebica is reported to flower irregularly; years in which the trees do not flower are common.
Within the subfamily Caesalpinioideae and the tribe Cassieae, Kalappia seems to be most closely related to genera such as Dialium and Koompassia.

K. celebica grows scattered in rain forest from near the coast to up to 500 m altitude, but most commonly below 100 m. It usually occurs on poor rocky soils with a pH of about 4. The annual precipitation is about 3000 mm, with a minimum of about 150 mm in the driest month and a maximum of about 500 mm in the wettest month. It is one of the tallest trees in the forest where it grows. Very locally it can be one of the dominant species.

K. celebica may be propagated by seed, but there are no reports of planting activities. In closed forest the regeneration is poor and seedlings are few, which implies that K. celebica needs light to germinate and establish. In a K. celebica forest near Wotu with about 65 trees per ha there was no natural regeneration, but natural regeneration did occur in logged-over forest. Therefore, human interference is necessary to allow regeneration of K. celebica forest, e.g. by logging 5-10 ha patches of forest which are subsequently planted. With 4-5 trees per ha with a diameter of over 40 cm the yield can be 15-20 m³.

By the beginning of the 1950s populations of K. celebica had already been considerably depleted by large-scale logging for its valuable timber. The wood has become rare and expensive on the local market. K. celebica, being endemic to South Sulawesi, is seriously in need of protection. Integral protection of large areas of forest where it grows is essential for its survival, and may also serve to protect another superior timber, Diospyros celebica Bakh., which is often associated with K. celebica.
The variation in the figure of the wood might give opportunities for selection. As far as is known, no attempts have been made to bring K. celebica into cultivation.

Surprisingly little research has been done on wood properties, propagation, silviculture and forest management of such a valuable timber species. Tests with enrichment planting in logged-over forest might be worthwhile considering. The poor germination capacity in closed forest might require special forest management measures to be developed.

[271]Dienst van het Boswezen in Indonesië Afd. Planologie, 1950. Luchtfotointerpretatie van oorspronkelijk bos in Indonesië [Interpretation of aerial photographs of virgin forest in Indonesia]. Report No 4. Bogor. 112 pp.
[599]Kostermans, A.J.G.H., 1952. Notes on two leguminous genera from eastern Indonesia. Reinwardtia 1: 451-457.
[861]Oey Djoen Seng, 1951. De soortelijke gewichten van Indonesische houtsoorten en hun betekenis voor de praktijk [Specific gravity of Indonesian woods and its significance for practical use]. Rapport No 46. Bosbouwproefstation, Bogor. 183 pp.
[1014]Sidiyasa, K., 1988. Beberapa aspek ekologi Diospyros celebica dan Kalappia celebica di Kecamatan Wotu, Sulawesi Selatan [Some aspects of the ecology of Diospyros celebica and Kalappia celebica at Wotu District, South Sulawesi]. Buletin Penelitian Hutan 504: 23–44.
[1078]Sutisna, U. & Soeyatman, H.C., 1984. Komposisi jenis pohon hutan bekas tebangan di Malili, Sulawesi Selatan: deskripsi dan analisa [Tree species composition of a logged-over forest at Malili, South Sulawesi: description and analysis]. Laporan No 430. Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Hutan, Bogor. iii + 28 pp.

B. Sunarno (general part), J. Ilic (wood anatomy)

Sunarno, B. & Ilic, J., 1998. Kalappia Kosterm.. In: Sosef, M.S.M., Hong, L.T. and Prawirohatmodjo, S. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(3): Timber trees; Lesser-known timbers. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea