Cubilia cubili

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Cubilia cubili

Description

Trees up to 25(-50) m high, dbh up to 75 cm, with up to 6 m high buttresses; Branchlets terete, 4-8 mm in diam., redbrown to cinnamon or purplish black, smooth to slightly grooved, lenticels inconspicuous, the tip appressed short fulvous hairy, otherwise glabrous. Leaves often with 2 buds, mostly only the lower one developing; Inflorescences thyrsoid to co-rymbiform, up to 30 cm long, densely and minutely appressed brown hairy; Flowers copper. Petals in male flowers elliptic, c. 1 by 0.6 mm, in female subovate, 1.5 by 1.5 mm. Stamens: Fruit parts 3-4(-5) by 2-2.5 cm, green to brown, the Warts pyramidal to triangular, up to 2 mm long, pericarp c. 0.8 mm thick, endocarp smooth, white. Seeds ellipsoid-ovoid, 2.5 by 1.7 cm, testa smooth, shining dark brown, arillode to 6-10 mm high.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Jawa (Jawa cultivated); Philippines (Philippines present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present), Biliran present, Luzon present, Mindanao present, Mindoro present, Samar present, W Moluccas present, incl. P. Laut present
Malesia: eastern half of Borneo (incl. P. Laut), Philippines (Mindoro, Luzon, Samar, Biliran, Mindanao), Celebes, W Moluccas. Outside its area rarely cultivated in Java.

Uses

The whitish to light reddish brown timber is used for indoor construction. The arillode is edible; the cooked or roasted seeds are eaten and are said to be comparable with but more delicious than Castanea seeds. See .

Notes

Though the species as a whole is rather uniform it shows clinal variation in a few characters. In Borneo the leaves are 3-5-jugate, the glands on the lower side of the leaflets are uncommon, and the apex of the leaflets is obtuse or obtuse-acuminate; in the Philippines the leaves are sometimes 6-jugate, glands are always present, the apex of the leaflets is mostly acute-acuminate; in Celebes the leaves are 5- or 6-, sometimes 7-jugate, glands are always present (though rare in some specimens), the apex of the leaflets is sometimes acute-acuminate. The few trees grown in Java represent the Celebes form.

Citation

Koord. 1922 – In: Suppl. Cel.: 26
Radlk. 1932: p. 923. – In: Engl., Pflanzenr. 98: f. 22
Backer 1911: Schoolfl.: 268
Koord. 1922 – In: Suppl. Cel.: t. 52, 53,
Koord. 1898: Minah.: 402
Blanco 1845: Fl. Filip., ed. 2: 200
Merr. 1917: Int. Rumph.: 338
Leenh. 1978 – In: Blumea: 397
Blume 1918: Sp. Blanc.: 240
Madulid 1991 – In: Nat. Mus. Papers: 56
Blume 1901: p. 51. – In: Ic. Bogor.: t. 92, 93
Blanco 1878 – In: Fl. Filip., ed. 3: 10
Blume 1923 – In: Enum. Philipp. Flow. Pl.: 505
Backer & Bakh. f. 1965 – In: Fl. Java: 143