Widely distributed in continental tropical SE. Asia, from Ceylon and the Deccan to Assam and Burma, not yet reported for Thailand and erroneously so for Indo-China (SANTISUK, l.c.); in Malesia: very locally found in East Java, but somewhat doubtful whether native.
BEUMEE l.c. recorded this tree for the first time for East Java, where it was found locally in some places in the (teak) forest districts S. Surabaya and E. Tuban He suggested that this occurrence would fit the theory of a number of forest officers of early import by Hindus of teak and some associated trees (Butea monosperma, Schleicher a oleosa, etc.) and several other plants. I certainly agree that in the Hindu period (roughly 800-1400 A.D.) plants have come from India, especially those favoured for sacred purposes; for example Cochlospermum religiosum (L.) ALSTON, and others went to India vice versa, as for example Santalum album L. (see ). The first is still only found near Hindu temples in Bali and the latter is still spreading in India. The disjunction between the localities in East Java and India-Burma is in these cases certainly caused by intentional dispersal by man in historic time.
There are, however, a large number of other plants showing this same disjunction, and all bound to a seasonal climate, that is, subject to a distinct annual period of drought. In a succinct analysis I found these to belong to 4 classes (). Later I have further elaborated this problem and tried to solve it (). From this it appeared that the ecological disjunction of the seasonal climate between the colossal area it covers in SE. Asia (south as far as Tenasserim) and a similar ecology in Central & East Java and the Lesser Sunda Is. is shared by a homologous plant-geographical disjunction of many hundreds of plants which do not occur in everwet West Malesia, or only in very local seasonal spots in Celebes and the Philippine Islands. A fair number extend their range south-eastwards to Australia. This proves that such patterns are quite natural; I have assumed they originated during the Pleistocene Glacial Period, which created a temporary pathway for drought plants between SE. Asia and Australia, to vanish in the Late Holocene.
It could thus well be that also S. chelonoides does occur in the native state in the East Javanese teak forest. As a matter of fact no fruit has yet been collected, although flowering was abundant. I cannot subscribe to the opinion of BEUMEE that its dispersal is here by vegetative means, because I cannot well see by what vegetative means and furthermore because it is difficult to see how it would have maintained itself vegetatively in this way for many centuries. On the other hand the existence of a Javanese vernacular name is no argument that it is native; experience tells us that such names are often invented quickly. If it is native, it remains curious that, though it is obviously of rare occurrence, it was only recently discovered. It cannot be disproved, however, that its seed was inadvertently introduced by the Forest Service with teak seed from India or Burma.