General Information
Shrub up to 10 m tall. Stipules absent. Leaves alternate, simple, penni-veined, petiole winged along the whole length. Flowers ca. 95 mm in diameter, yellow, placed in sometimes composed racemes. Fruits ca. 23 mm long, red, dehiscent capsule, seeds with scarlet aril.
Mostly in secondary forest or open places in undisturbed forest (including kerangas) such as riversides up to 700 m altitude. Mostly found on alluvial places such as swamps, mangroves, riversides, but sometimes also present on hillsides and ridges. On clayey to sandy soils. Flowering continuously, each flower open for one day only, between 2 flowers of the same raceme a difference of ca 3-4 days. Fruit ripe after 36 days; seeds eaten by birds.
The leaves of this tree are widely used by the community in Borneo, particularly in the state of Sabah, for wrapping food such as tapai, a traditional fermented rice dish for the Brunei, Bajau, and Dusun tribes.
Distribution: Sri Lanka, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. Also introduced in the tropics worldwide. Local names in Borneo: Buan, Dungin, Simpoh ayer, Simpoh, Simpor, Simpor bini (Brunei tribe), Simpor rimba, Tambakau.
Basic info of Dillenia suffriticosa
|
Order |
: Dilleniales |
|
Family |
: Dilleniaceae |
|
Genus |
: Dillenia |
|
Species |
: Dillenia
suffriticosa |
|
Common
name |
: Simpor
Bini (Brunei), Simpoh Air (Melayu) |
|
Synonyms |
: Dillenia
burbidgei (Hook.f.) Martelli |
|
|
Wormia burbidgei Hook.f. |
|
|
Wormia subsessilis Miq. |
|
|
Wormia suffruticosa Griff. |
