Dacrycarpus imbricatus var. patulus

de Laub. 1969

Common names

Vietnamese: Thông lông gà (FIPI 1996). Malaya: ru bukit (Kedah); Sumatra: ambun (Solok on W. Coast), balanidju (Kerintji), beru (in Karo Lands), ki mèrak, marak (Bencoolen), damanik (Simelungun), sampinur bunga (Karo-Toba), talas (Kroë, Bencoolen); Borneo: menjilu (Dusun, in Kp. Tindai, Sabah), tampilas (Dusun, in Sensurun, Sabah); Celebes: siozi (Mt Wuka Tampai, Palu) (de Laubenfels 1988).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Podocarpus cupressina Ridley 1911; Podocarpus imbricatus sensu Gibbs 1912; Podocarpus kawaii Hayata 1917; Dacrycarpus kawaii (Hayata) Gaussen 1974 (de Laubenfels 1988).

Description

"Tree, 5-40 m tall, 10-100 cm diam. Adult foliage leaves not imbricate, spreading sharply, acicular, distinctly keeled on four sides, 0.8-1.5 by 0.4-0.6 mm. Involucral leaves to 3 mm long, spreading" (de Laubenfels 1988).

"Only in Celebes is there an overlap with var. imbricatus with possibly transitional forms. In Borneo, Mindanao, and along the northern coast of New Guinea specimens approach var. robustus in form. Specimens from the western and eastern parts of the range are identical and easily distinguishable from other varieties" (de Laubenfels 1988).

Distribution and Ecology

N Burma, far S China, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Malaya, Borneo, Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao), Central Celebes, N. coast of New Guinea (incl. New Britain and New Ireland), and New Hebrides to Fiji. Common, but not in Java. "Scattered and common in primary and secondary rain-forest, mostly between 700 and 2500 m, in N. Sumatra at c. 400 m on sinterlimestone near sulphur springs near Tinggi Radja, up to c. 3000 m in Borneo, and occasionally to near sea-level in Fiji" (de Laubenfels 1988).

In Viet Nam, it is sparsely distributed in Tuyen Quang, Son La, Lang Son, Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, especially in Na Hang (Tuyen Quang) and Ma river area (Son La), at altitudes between 300-1000 m, sometimes down to 200m (Quang Ninh). Usually mixed with broad-leaved species, such as: Celtis australis, Altingia siamensis, Cinnamomum spp., Gironniera subaequalis and Mallotus yunnanensis, growing sparsely along water courses. Light-demanding tree, but at young age shade-demanding, preferring humid, fertile soil, especially sandy soils, but also growing on clay-stony soil. Natural regeneration is strong (FIPI 1996).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Ethnobotany

The wood is light (density 0.46-0.47), grain straight, fine, easy to work with, but not durable. Used for house-building, furniture and box-making (FIPI 1996).

Observations

Remarks

Citations

See also

McKone, Daniel. 1997. Dacrycarpus imbricatus. http://www.mckone.org/dac.html, accessed 2001.12.16, now defunct. This page is devoted to D. imbricatus in Laos, containing many photographs.