Dysoxylum mollissimum

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Dysoxylum mollissimum

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Description

Tree to 34 m (–58 m teste Koorders & Valeton, l.c.) with clear bole to 25 m and 150 cm diam., fluted, buttresses to 2 m (–5 m, Koorders, 1913) tall, 1 m out, concave. Bark grey-brown with elongated brown lenticels, becoming pustular and cracking vertically or scaling; inner bark yellow-brown, flecked orange; sapwood pale brown, often with strong smell of garlic, onions, potatoes or turnips; heartwood hard, deep red. Leaves 25–95 cm, imparipinnate, up to 14(–17)-jugate, the distal leaflets developing ± some time after the more proximal; petiole 5–10 cm, 3–4 mm diam., subglabrous to softly pubescent, often lenticellate, somewhat flattened adaxially or ± terete, base weakly swollen to clasping; rachis c. 3 mm diam., glabrescent to ± pubescent. Petals 4 (or 5), 8–12 mm long, linear, cream, ± sparsely pubescent without, ± imbricate at apices, adnate to staminal tube in proximal half. Staminal tube hairy on both sides, especially villous within, weakly ribbed, the margin subtruncate to 8-lobed, the lobes ± emarginate; anthers 8, c. 0.5 mm long, oblong, weakly locellate, glabrous, included. Ovary ± sericeous 4-locular, each locule 1-ovulate; style terete, sericeous to villous in proximal half; stylehead subdiscoid to short-cylindrical. Capsule 15–25 mm diam., flattened globose, glabrous, 4-valved, red-brown, smooth or pustular-lenticellate; pericarp with white latex. Seeds 1–4, to 16 mm long, plano-convex, with red aril; cotyledons collateral, with white latex.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Assam (Assam present); East Himalaya (Sikkim present), southern China present, throughout Malesia (apparently rare in Malay Peninsula) to Australia and the western Pacific present
Sikkim, Assam, southern China, throughout Malesia (apparently rare in Malay Peninsula) to Australia and the western Pacific. See the two subspecies below for further details.

Taxonomy

In its retarded leaf development and conspicuous though small bracteoles and the petals adnate to the tube, this species resembles Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum, but its 4-locular ovary with 1-ovulate locules are completely different as is the calyx. Moreover, the characteristic smell of the slash is similar to that of Dysoxylum alliaceum and its allies, with which it shares the same Sundanese name. Following Smith, I have equated Dysoxylum quercifolium with D. pilosum. The first is based on a juvenile scrap from Fiji. It has lobed leaflets, a feature of some juvenile forms of Dysoxylum variabile and D. bijugum (Lab.) Seem. (New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island), though no more such have been seen from Fiji.

Uses

According to Harms (1940), this species is one of the biggest trees of Java but Backer & Bakhuizen f. (l.c.) record that it has not been collected in West Java since before the 1860s. Its wood has been used sporadically for houseposts and other construction and it is recorded as an important commercial lumber tree from which boards are made in Hainan. Subsp. molle is the red bean, kedgy-kedgy or pencil cedar of tropical Australia used in cabinet work. In Fiji, the fruits are used in the treatment of wounds; the constitution of the efficacious essential oil has been determined by Aalbersberg & Singh .

Citation

HemsL 1894 – In: J. Linn. Soc, Bot. p 171
Burkill 1901 – In: J. Linn. Soc, Bot. p 31
Vidal 1885: Phan. Cuming. p 102
Kanj. et al. 1936 – In: Fl. Assam. p 231
Merr. 1923 – In: Enum. Philipp. Flow. Pl. p 364
Mabb. 1994 – In: Blumea. 309.
F.M. Bailey 1913: Compreh. Catal. Queensl. Pl. p 86
Anon. 1974: p. 64. – In: Fl. Hainan. incl. var. glaberrimum
Steud. 1840: NomencL, . 2. p 722
Blanco 1878 – In: Fl. Filip., ed. 3. 89.
Taylor & Harden 1991 – In: Harden, Fl. N.S.W. 2. p 281
Fern.-Vill. 1880 – In: Blanco, Fl. Filip., 3 Nov. App. p 42
Blanco 1845: Fl. Filip., ed. 2. p 244
Miq. 1859 – In: Fl. Ind. Bat. p 538
Mabb. 1989 – In: Tree Fl. Malaya. p 245
C. Muell. 1857 – In: Walp., Ann. 4. 387.
Elmer 1937 – In: Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 3372.
G.Don 1831 – In: Gen. Syst. p 683
Maiden 1907 – In: For. B. N.S.W. t. 101
C.DC. 1878 – In: DC., Monogr. Phan. 1. p 484
Zou 1989 – In: Acta Bot. Yunn. p 155
Wu 1977: p. 250. – In: Fl. Yunnan. incl. var. glaberrimum.
Francis 1951: Austral. Rainf. Trees: 214. it. 124.
Miq. 1861: Fl. Ind. Bat. 504.
Miq. 1868: p. 18. – In: Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd.-Bat. incl. var. sumatranum Miq. & var. halmaheirae Miq.
A.C. Smith 1985: p. 556. – In: Fl. Vit. Nova. t. 128C, D, 129A. (Syn. nov.).
Buch.-Ham. 1832 – In: Mem. Wern. Soc. 306.
Briq. 1935 – In: Mém. Inst. Nat. Genev. p 50
DC 1824 – In: Prodr. 623.
Seem. 1962: p. 238. – In: Brittonia. f. 2.
Merr. 1923 – In: Enum. Philipp. Flow. Pl. p 363
A.C. Smith 1952 – In: Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 504.
A.C. Smith 1952 – In: Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 503.
F.Muell. – In: Fragm. Phyt. Austral. p 145
K.Heyne 1950: Nutt. Pl. Indon., ed. 3. p 895
Vidal 1886: Rev. Pl. Vase. Filipi. 81.
C.DC 1878 – In: DC., Monogr. Phan. 1. p 527
F.M. Bailey 1899 – In: Queensl. Fl. p 230
A.C. Smith 1952 – In: Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 501.
Harms 1940 – In: Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., ed. 2, 19bl. p 165
Backer & Bakh.f. 1965 – In: Fl. Java. p 123
Maiden 1909 – In: For. B. N.S.W. t. 130
Briq. 1935: p. 46. – In: Mém. Inst. Nat. Genev. t. 3 f. 3
C. Muell. 1857 – In: Walp., Ann. 4. p 387
A.C.Smith 1952 – In: Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 502.
Setchell 1924: p. 80. – In: Carn. Inst. Wash. Publ. t. 2
How & Chen 1955: p. 16. – In: Acta Phytotax. Sin. incl. var. glaberrimum How & Chen
Koord. 1913 – In: Atlas. t. 179
C.DC. 1878 – In: DC, Monogr. Phan. 1. p 512
Guzman et al. 1986: p. 340. – In: Guide Philipp. Fl. Fauna. t. 259. (Syn. nov.).
Yunck 1943 – In: Bull. B.P. Bishop Mus. p 71
Maiden 1909 – In: For. B. N.S.W.
Koord. 1922: Suppl. Fl. N.O. Cel. t. 44
Merr. & L.M. Perry – In: J. Arnold Arbor. 21. 301.
Christoph. 1935 – In: Bull. B.P. Bishop Mus. p 115
Koord. 1912 – In: Exk. Fl. Java. p 441
Backer 1911: Schoolfl. Java. p 206
CT. White 1933 – In: Contr. Arnold Arbor. p 53
Koord. & Valeton 1896: p. 80. – In: Bijdr. Booms. Java. incl. var. sumatranum Miq. & var. teysmannii (C.DC) Koord. & Valeton
Mabb. 1977 – In: Taxon. 528.
Anon. 1952 – In: Wealth India. p 120
M.Roem. 1846 – In: Synops. Monogr. 104.