Planchonia valida
Content
Description
Trees, up to 50 m high, up to 2 m diam.;
Bark greyish brown, 2-6 mm thick, scaling off in small, irregular pieces;
Branchlets angular (young);
Leaves:
Stipules early caducous, inserted at the base of the petioles of very young leaves, subulate, c. 0.4 by 0.1 mm, tip very sharp.
Inflorescences racemes, generally many-flowered, up to 13.5 cm long, puberulous to glabrous;
Petals obovate-oblong, 15-35 by 7-10 mm, membranaceous, greenish, reflexed, base tapering, apex obtuse.
Fruits ovoid to ellipsoid, without basal neck, 3-4 by 1.5-2.5 cm, pale green;
Seeds 1-15, ovoid, 3-4-angular;
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; Jawa (Jawa present); Lesser Sunda Is. present (Bali present); Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present); Sumatera (Sumatera present), Lombok present, Timor present
Malesia: Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Lombok, Timor).
Uses
The wood is useful and, therefore, it is recommended as replacement of teak in regions where it is too wet for teak, but not near stagnant water or marshes. The wood is easy to work and does not warp much (according to Keith 1947, warps a great deal if not carefully seasoned). It is a good to very good firewood; not very durable. It is used for house building, heavy constructions, poles, furniture and cabinet work, beams, joints, rafters, flooring, sheathing, panelling, bentwood work, ship-framing and vehicle shafts. Young leaves and red shoots are eaten as lalab (raw vegetables) or the steamed ones are mixed with fish and other spices. The plant is probably a fish poison as Barringtonia, but which part of the plant should be poisonous is not indicated (). The species is devoid of saponins ().
Notes
1. As the type specimen of P. littoralis the sheets marked Blume 1526 in the Leiden Herbarium were selected, which have ribbed fruit as indicated in Blume’s description.
2. Several names were considered to be synonyms, because of the small differences between them. Blume distinguishes P. littoralis from P. valida by having elongate-ellipsoid and costate-subangular fruit, while those of P. valida are ellipsoid and smooth.
3. The only difference mentioned between P. valida and P. sumatrana is the crenulate or unequally bluntly denticulate leaf margin in the former and the appressed serrulate to denticulate in the latter.
4. The type specimen of P. alata (Zippel s.n. in Leiden) might represent a sapling of P. valida, which has longer leaves than usual.
5. Miquel combined P. valida, P. littoralis and P. sumatrana and called this species P. sundaica, which is not allowed under the present rules.
6. Knuth distinguishes P. forbesii from P. sumatrana by having reddish brown, obovate leaves in P. forbesii and slightly black, lanceolate-oblong leaves in P. sumatrana. In the specimens of P. sumatrana, identified by him, no lanceolate-oblong leaves can be found; the leaves are obovate to elliptic-oblong. The colour of the dry leaves is not reliable for distinguishing species.
7. Kostermans, who studied the type specimens, is of the opinion that P. elliptica is conspecific with P. valida.
8. The name P. tetraptera was incorrectly introduced by Miers to prevent confusion between P. alata and Barringtonia alata.
9. For differences with P. timorensis see note under latter, and note under P. spectabilis for differences with that species.
2. Several names were considered to be synonyms, because of the small differences between them. Blume distinguishes P. littoralis from P. valida by having elongate-ellipsoid and costate-subangular fruit, while those of P. valida are ellipsoid and smooth.
3. The only difference mentioned between P. valida and P. sumatrana is the crenulate or unequally bluntly denticulate leaf margin in the former and the appressed serrulate to denticulate in the latter.
4. The type specimen of P. alata (Zippel s.n. in Leiden) might represent a sapling of P. valida, which has longer leaves than usual.
5. Miquel combined P. valida, P. littoralis and P. sumatrana and called this species P. sundaica, which is not allowed under the present rules.
6. Knuth distinguishes P. forbesii from P. sumatrana by having reddish brown, obovate leaves in P. forbesii and slightly black, lanceolate-oblong leaves in P. sumatrana. In the specimens of P. sumatrana, identified by him, no lanceolate-oblong leaves can be found; the leaves are obovate to elliptic-oblong. The colour of the dry leaves is not reliable for distinguishing species.
7. Kostermans, who studied the type specimens, is of the opinion that P. elliptica is conspecific with P. valida.
8. The name P. tetraptera was incorrectly introduced by Miers to prevent confusion between P. alata and Barringtonia alata.
9. For differences with P. timorensis see note under latter, and note under P. spectabilis for differences with that species.
Citation
Prance 2012 – In: Kiew et al., Fl. Penins. Malaysia 3: 216
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