Back

Shorea hemsleyana (King) King ex Foxw.

Family Name:	Dipterocarpaceae
Synonyms:	Balanocarpus hemsleyanus King, Pachychlamys hemsleyana (King) Ridl.
Common Name:	Cengal Pasir Daun Besar, Meranti Daun Besar

Shorea hemsleyana , also known as Cengal Pasir Daun Besar is a tree, up to 30 m tall. It has dark red flowers which are pollinated by thrips. The fruits are winged with three long lobes and two shorter lobes.

Full Sun

Moderate Water

Suitable for Roadsides

Tree

Name

Family Name
Genus Epithet
Species Epithet
Name Authority
Name Status (botanical)
Synonyms
Common Names
Comments
Species Summary

Classifications and Characteristics

Plant Division	Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants)
Plant Growth Form	Tree
Lifespan (in Singapore)	Perennial

Mode of Nutrition	Autotrophic
Plant Shape	Broad / Mushroom / Hemispherical
Maximum Height	30 m
Tree or Palm – Trunk Diameter	2.5 m

Biogeography

Native Distribution	It is found in Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.
Native Habitat	Terrestrial
Preferred Climate Zone	Tropical

Local Conservation Status

Non-native (Horticultural / Cultivated Only)

Description and Ethnobotany

Growth Form	It is a tree, up to 30 m tall and 2.5 m girth, with deeply and persistently V-section fissured bark. The crown is large and hemispherical or dome-shaped with buttresses.
Foliage	The leaves are leathery and oblong shaped (14 – 35 cm long and 6 – 15 cm wide). Each leaf has 14 – 17 pairs of lateral veins which are prominent on the underside, and the tertiary veins are ladderlike (scalariform). The leaf base is obtuse while the leaf tip slightly pointed (1 cm long). The twigs, bud, petiole and the outside of the stipule are densely covered with yellow-brown stiff hairs. The petiole is 0.14 – 0.2 cm long while the stipule is 1.6 cm long.
Flowers	Inflorescence occur at the leaf axil as a panicle, up to 25 cm long, and comprised of small flowers. Each flower has dark red petals, 15 stamens in 3 unequal verticils, filaments compressed and tapering to the small subglobose anthers. Appendage becomes reflexed at anthesis. Ovary is hairy and ovoid with thread-like style.

Fruit	The fruit is winged and dry. They are borne on stalks which are 1 mm long. Each fruit comprises of three long calyx lobes (up to 2.5 cm long and 1.8 cm wide), two shorter lobes (up to 2 cm long and 1.8 cm wide) and one oval-shaped nut (7 cm long and 3 cm wide). The nut is densely hairy and has a short style remnant at the tip.
Habitat	It is found in shallow peat swamp forest and on leeched sandy soil of the dipterocarp forest, up to 400 m altitude.
Associated Fauna	It is pollinated by thrips.
Taxonomy	There are two 2 subspecies, namely Shorea hemsleyana subsp. hemsleyana and Shorea hemsleyana subsp. grandiflora. The former occurs in Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, while the latter is confined to Sarawak and West Kalimantan in Borneo.
Cultivation	It can be propagated by seeds.
Etymology	Latin Shorea, commemorating Sir John Shore (1793-1798), the Governor-General for the British East India Company; Latin hemsleyana, commemorates W. B. Hemsley (1843-1924), a British botanist and keeper of the Kew Herbarium.
Ethnobotanical Uses	Timber & Products: The wood is used as red meranti timber. The wood can be treated and used for light construction. In Borneo, the logs are transported by river as they float in water.

Landscaping Features

Landscaping	It can be grown in parks, gardens and streetscape.
Landscape Uses	Parks & Gardens, Suitable for Roadsides

Fauna, Pollination and Dispersal

Pollination Method(s)	Biotic (Fauna) (Insects (Ant, Beetle, Fly, Thrip, Wasp))
Seed or Spore Dispersal	Abiotic (Wind)

Plant Care and Propagation

Light Preference	Full Sun
Water Preference	Moderate Water
Plant Growth Rate	Moderate to Slow

Rootzone Tolerance

Well-Drained Soils, Moist Soils, Poor Infertile Soils

Foliar

Foliage Retention	Evergreen
Mature Foliage Colour(s)	Green
Mature Foliage Texture(s)	Leathery

Foliar Type	Simple / Unifoliate
Foliar Arrangement Along Stem	Alternate
Foliar Attachment to Stem	Petiolate
Foliar Shape(s)
Foliar Margin	Entire
Foliar Apex - Tip	Acuminate
Foliar Base	Rounded / Obtuse

Non - Foliar and Storage

Branch Angle (wrt vertical)	Woody
Mature Bark Texture	Fissured
Stem Type & Modification	Woody

Floral (Angiosperm)

Flower & Plant Sexuality	Bisexual Flowers
Flower Colour(s)	Red
Flower Grouping	Cluster / Inflorescence

Flower Location	Axillary
Individual Flower Shape	Bowl-shaped
Inflorescence Type	Panicle
Flowering Period	Every Few Years

Fruit, Seed and Spore

Fruit Classification	Simple Fruit
Fruit Type	Indehiscent Dry Fruit
Mature Seed Colour(s)	Brown

Seed Quantity Per Fruit

Few (1-5)

References

References	Ashton, P.S. (1982). Dipterocarpaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (ed.) Flora Malesiana, ser.1, vol. 9, part 2, pp. 237–552, 575–600. The Hague/Boston/London: Martinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk Publishers. Soerianegara, I., and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors). 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia Volume 5 (1). Timber Trees: Major Commercial Timbers. Netherlands: Pudoc Scientific Publishers. 610 pages.

References

Ashton, P.S. (1982). Dipterocarpaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (ed.) Flora Malesiana, ser.1, vol. 9, part 2, pp. 237–552, 575–600. The Hague/Boston/London: Martinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk Publishers.

Soerianegara, I., and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors). 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia Volume 5 (1). Timber Trees: Major Commercial Timbers. Netherlands: Pudoc Scientific Publishers. 610 pages.

Image Repository

Images

Others

Master ID	30390
Species ID	4699
Flora Disclaimer	The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.