Shorea contorta (PROSEA)

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Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Shorea contorta S. Vidal

Protologue: Sinopsis: 15, t. 15E (1883).

Synonyms

• Pentacme contorta (S. Vidal) Merr. & Rolfe (1908),
• Pentacme mindanensis Foxw. (1918).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: mindanao white lauan, white lauan (general), malaanonang (Tagalog, Bikol).

Distribution

Throughout the Philippines.

Uses

The timber is used as light red meranti, or as white meranti; it is often traded as white lauan in the Philippines where it is an important timber.

Observations

• A large tree up to 50 m tall with bole of 15-20 m long, up to 100(-180) cm in diameter and with V-section fissured bark.
• Leaves ovate to lanceolate, thinly leathery, 9-29 cm × 5.5-11 cm, with 5-8(-9) pairs of secondary veins, base subequal.
• Stamens 15, anthers linear and apically prolonged
• Larger fruit calyx lobes up to 12 cm × 3 cm.

S. contorta is common and occurs often semi-gregarious in seasonal semi-evergreen dipterocarp forest up to 700 m altitude. The density of the wood is 420-560 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

49, 175, 258, 579, 681, 748.

Main genus page

• Shorea (red meranti)

Authors

M.S.M. Sosef (selection of species)