Eusideroxylon zwageri
Encyclopedia
Eusideroxylon zwageri, the Ulin, is native to the Malesia
region. It is one of the four species of the genus
Eusideroxylon
. It is known colloquially in English as Borneo ironwood and occasionally bilian ironwood or bilian. Other Common Names include Tambulian Tagalog
, kayu ulin and belian Indonesian
and belian and its corruption in modern Malaysian
: bilian. In French
it is known as: Bois de fer and in German
: Borneo Eisenholz.
Some less common names include: Im muk, Ong len (both Chinese); Tulian, Tebelian, Sakian, Biliran: all regional vernacular corruptions of belian and tambulian. Sulawesi
shipbuilders often refer to the wood as kayo bado (Modern Indonesian: kayu bada: "inexpressible ([sic wonderful] wood") (or kayo sappu: "broom wood").
The other three Eusideroxylon species it may be confused with are Eusideroxylon borneense, Eusideroxylon melagangai and Eusideroxylon lauriflora.
; Flores
, Java
, Kalimantan
and Sumatra
in Indonesia
; the Sabah
and Sarawak
states of Malaysia; and the Sulu Archipelago
of the Philippines
. It is threatened by habitat loss. The government of Indonesia
and the state government of Sarawak
have formally banned the export of this species. Illegal smuggling especially by migrant Chinese continues to be major problem.
Eusideroxylon zwageri grows in lowland primary and secondary forest up to 500m altitude. It prefers well-drained soils, sandy to clay-loam, sometimes limestone. It is commonly found along rivers and adjacent hills. It requires an average annual rainfall of 2500–4000 mm. It occurs scattered or is gregarious.
This very important tree is one of the most durable and heaviest timbers in the world. It is now threatened by over-exploitation, lack of regeneration and difficulties in cultivation.
(usually host to Cassytha
a parasitic vine with leaves reduced to scales up to half of the tree height. It is slightly fluted at the base, up to 150–220 cm in diameter. The trunk
has many small, rounded buttress
es that give the base and elephant-foot like appearance. Belian can grow to attain over 1,000 years of age. Common commercially exploitable trees attains a height of 30 or more metres (100 ft) with trunk diameters of exploitable trees up to 92 cm (36 inches). Protected trees are towering giants of the forest attaining a height of up to 50 metres and a diameter of 220 cm- though height is routinely reduced by lightening strike.
The belian trees' leaves are dark green, simple, leathery, elliptical to ovate, 14-18 long (5.5-7.5 inches) and 5–11 cm wide (2-4 inches), and are alternate, rarely whorled or opposite, without stipules and petiolate
. The Leaf blade is unlobed (unlobed or lobed in Sassafras
) the margins entire and occasionally with domatia
(crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mite
s) in axils of main lateral veins (in Cinnamomum ).
The Inflorescences are in axils of leaves or deciduous
bracts include, panicles (rarely heads), racemes , compound cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha ), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts.
The flowers of the belian are bisexual only or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others. The flowers are usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish. The hypanthium
are well-developed, resembling calyx
tube tepals and the stamens perigynous. The tepals are in groups of 6 to 9, in 2 or 3 whorls
of 3 and sepaloid. If tepals are unequal will then usually possess 3 outer smaller rather than inner 3. This is occasionally absent in Litsea. The stamens are in groups of 3n and in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent. The stamens of the third whorl has 2 glands near base, There are 2-4 locular, with locules opening by valves.
There is one pistil and one carpellate. Thre is one locular ovary of placentation basal; one ovule; stigma subsessile , discoid or capitate. The fruits drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent floral tube . In the fruit there is one seed with endosperm
absent. The fruits are poisonous to humans but have medicinal properties.
The parasite vine, Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family, Cassythaceae.
radial
growth of 0.058 cm per year. The belian is a canopy species in primary forests. The species is considered unsuitable for large-scale plantations due to slow growth and inadequate seed and seedling supply. Manual selection of trees in natural forests is common.
or only slightly interlocked. The timber retains a pleasant lemon odour. This odour, along with the woods' natural high lustre, make it prized by cabinet-makers and fine furniture craftsmen.
The wood is dense (0.85 – 1.1 g/cm³)? and texture is moderately fine to fine and even. Also attractive to users is the belians resistance to insect
s, bacteria
, fungi and marine borers. The wood has anti-bacterial properties (for local medicinal use)
Vessels are diffuse-porous, medium-sized and generally evenly distributed, arranged in short radial rows (2-3 vessels). Moderate abundancy of aliform paratracheal parenchyma. Growth rings boundaries are indistinct or absent. Tyloses are often present.
The belian has a radial shrinkage rate of 2-4.5% and an tangential shrinkage rate of tangential 4.5-7.5%. The timber dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid checks and splits.
The belian wood is famed for its easy working characteristics, despite high density. The wood plane
s, bores and turns
cleanly, producing smooth and often lustrous surfaces. Nailing requires pre-bores prior to nailing. Saw
blades and cutting instruments are only moderate blunted during working the timber. Apparently, belian wood is difficult to glue with synthetic resin
s.
Durability: heartwood is rated as very durable – immune to termite attack; service life of up to 100 years in direct soil contact and more than 20 years for marine work in tropical waters has been reported.
and marine borer attack the wood is highly prized for many outdoor uses. Additionally, the belian wood's high density and easy workability lend it to particularly desirability in maritime structures, dock
construction and ship building, especially Indonesia's famous pinisi
sail-boat.
Common local uses include: House construction, door construction, water butts and troughs, boat building (Pinisi
), tools, tool handles, talisman
, jewellery
, medicinal slivers(for wounds, cuts, abrasions, bites and tooth-ache/infection), bridges, blowpipes? and spear shafts.
Internationally, it is renowned for heavy construction such as a buffer between transportation trailers and heavy steel fabrications (such as boilers, pressure vessels, reactors and many others). It is also frequently found in dry docks as a timber to separate the hull
of ships from the steel supporting stands. Other uses include use in boats and ships, industrial flooring, roofing (as shingles), fine indoor and outdoor furniture, coffin
wood (esteemed by Chinese due to ability to withstand rot and insect attack) and tool handles (especially those exposed to continual high impact (belian wood does not splinter and thus injure hands, eyes or endanger the operator on catastrophic failure) such as shovel
s, axe
s, block splitters, sledge hammers, heavy mallet
s, demolition hammer
s, mattock
s, picks, hoes
and hammers). Some expert cabinet-makers treasure a belian-headed carpenter's mallet as an excellent intermediate density hammer face between the usual wood and a metal one- and is able to quite easily tap or "whack" stubborn highly-polished metal fixtures without damage to the face or the fixture.
Other sources indicate belian often used for marine constructions such as pilings, wharf
s, dock
s, sluice
s, dam
s, ships, bridges, but also used for power line poles, masts
, roof shingles and house posts and to a minor extent as frame, board, heavy duty flooring, railway sleepers
, fencing material, furniture etc.
Population reduction has been noted in the following regions: Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sabah, Sarawak and the Philippines.
IUCN has categorized it Vulnerable A1cd and A2cd. CITES listed II Bi (unsustainable level of exploitation from the wild for international trade). Regeneration in logged-over forests is limited.
The species is threatened by over-exploitation, predominantly by illegal migrant loggers. Current demand for the timber is fueled for its esteem among Chinese as a coffin wood (as it is resistant to insect and rot).
Included in list of vanishing timber species of the Philippines and considered almost extinct in Sabah. In Java
and Sumatra
it exists solely in National Parks. Currently the situation is assessed as a serious depletion of stands.
The species is only planted on a small scale because the supply of seeds and seedlings is inadequate. The world-famous ITB Bogor Agricultural Institute (Insitut Pertanian Bogor)( os currently breeding a generation of plants more hardy than the wild harvested seeds
, bordering the Malaysian states of almost exhausted Sabah
and essentially extinct tracts of Sarawak
Motivated by the high price per cubic metre, Malaysian illegal loggers have been documented felling, transporting via river and river barge Indonesian protected trees into bordering Sabah
.
In addition to the issue surrounding the sovereignty of the Andaman Islands
and continuing spats over the delineation of Malaysian-Indonesian borders- this outraged the Indonesian public, who had been educated to conserve and protect this tree on pain of severe penalty rioted in protest in Jakarta and Pontianak
and publicly called for the resurrection of the Crush Malaysia policy known as Ganyang Melayu albeit terming Ganyang Maling-sia (Maling: Indonesian
for a common thief).
The government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
dispatched heavily armed Forestry Wardens to deter the thieves. It is expected this issue will be one of the foremost challenges of the winner of the 2009 Indonesian Presidential Election, with the winner expected to take a far stronger and militant stand on Malaysian theft of resources, also , most of the South East Asian country suspected that this was an Indonesian Republic plan to take over Malaysia for its huge amount of resources or just wanted to make Malaysia 'lost their thunder' since Malaysia is one of the biggest South East Asia industrial country, even though they are smaller than the Indonesian country. Still, most of the Indonesian citizen disagree with this accusation.
believe that the belian wood acts as a protective talisman
to avoid attack from tigers and elephants. The Dayak believe that this use of the belian talisman and the stands of belian trees was and is the sole cause of a lack of Sumatran elephant
s or Sumatran Tigers in Kalimantan
and Sarawak
. The potent 'elephant and tiger repellent' is alleged to be the belian sap
(which has a strong, pleasant lemon-like odour).
Delmy, A. 2001. Fire resistance of tree species in Bukit Soeharto Education Forest, East kalimantan, Indonesia. In: S. Kobayashi, J.W. Turnbull, T. Toma, T. Mori, N.M.N.A. Majid (eds.) Bogor, Indonesia, CIFOR. 27-34.
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
region. It is one of the four species of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Eusideroxylon
Eusideroxylon
Eusideroxylon is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family. The genus includes nine species of plant in the family Lauraceae. The genus is present in coastal rainforest and montane rainforest of Southeast Asia They are evergreen hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 meters in height...
. It is known colloquially in English as Borneo ironwood and occasionally bilian ironwood or bilian. Other Common Names include Tambulian Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, kayu ulin and belian Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
and belian and its corruption in modern Malaysian
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
: bilian. In French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
it is known as: Bois de fer and in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Borneo Eisenholz.
Some less common names include: Im muk, Ong len (both Chinese); Tulian, Tebelian, Sakian, Biliran: all regional vernacular corruptions of belian and tambulian. Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
shipbuilders often refer to the wood as kayo bado (Modern Indonesian: kayu bada: "inexpressible ([sic wonderful] wood") (or kayo sappu: "broom wood").
The other three Eusideroxylon species it may be confused with are Eusideroxylon borneense, Eusideroxylon melagangai and Eusideroxylon lauriflora.
Distribution
It is native to BruneiBrunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
; Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Kalimantan
Kalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
; the Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
states of Malaysia; and the Sulu Archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is threatened by habitat loss. The government of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and the state government of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
have formally banned the export of this species. Illegal smuggling especially by migrant Chinese continues to be major problem.
Eusideroxylon zwageri grows in lowland primary and secondary forest up to 500m altitude. It prefers well-drained soils, sandy to clay-loam, sometimes limestone. It is commonly found along rivers and adjacent hills. It requires an average annual rainfall of 2500–4000 mm. It occurs scattered or is gregarious.
This very important tree is one of the most durable and heaviest timbers in the world. It is now threatened by over-exploitation, lack of regeneration and difficulties in cultivation.
Description
Eusideroxylon zwageri henceforth referred to as belian, is a slow growing tall evergreen tree with a straight boleTrunk (botany)
In botany, trunk refers to the main wooden axis of a tree that supports the branches and is supported by and directly attached to the roots. The trunk is covered by the bark, which is an important diagnostic feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the...
(usually host to Cassytha
Cassytha
Cassytha L. is a genus of 17 species of parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae, mainly native to Australia, but with a few species in Africa, southern Asia, and one Cassytha L. (1753) is a genus of 17 species of parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae, mainly native to Australia, but with a few...
a parasitic vine with leaves reduced to scales up to half of the tree height. It is slightly fluted at the base, up to 150–220 cm in diameter. The trunk
Trunk (botany)
In botany, trunk refers to the main wooden axis of a tree that supports the branches and is supported by and directly attached to the roots. The trunk is covered by the bark, which is an important diagnostic feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the...
has many small, rounded buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es that give the base and elephant-foot like appearance. Belian can grow to attain over 1,000 years of age. Common commercially exploitable trees attains a height of 30 or more metres (100 ft) with trunk diameters of exploitable trees up to 92 cm (36 inches). Protected trees are towering giants of the forest attaining a height of up to 50 metres and a diameter of 220 cm- though height is routinely reduced by lightening strike.
The belian trees' leaves are dark green, simple, leathery, elliptical to ovate, 14-18 long (5.5-7.5 inches) and 5–11 cm wide (2-4 inches), and are alternate, rarely whorled or opposite, without stipules and petiolate
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. The Leaf blade is unlobed (unlobed or lobed in Sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
) the margins entire and occasionally with domatia
Domatia
Domatia are tiny chambers produced by plants that house arthropods.Domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabitants...
(crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mite
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
s) in axils of main lateral veins (in Cinnamomum ).
The Inflorescences are in axils of leaves or deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
bracts include, panicles (rarely heads), racemes , compound cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha ), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts.
The flowers of the belian are bisexual only or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others. The flowers are usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish. The hypanthium
Hypanthium
A hypanthium is a floral structure consisting of the bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens fused together. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including the Rosaceae, Grossulariaceae, and Fabaceae...
are well-developed, resembling calyx
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
tube tepals and the stamens perigynous. The tepals are in groups of 6 to 9, in 2 or 3 whorls
Whorl (botany)
In botany, a whorl is an arrangement of sepals, petals, leaves, or branches in which all the parts are attached at the same point and surround or wrap around the stem.There are four whorls in a general flower...
of 3 and sepaloid. If tepals are unequal will then usually possess 3 outer smaller rather than inner 3. This is occasionally absent in Litsea. The stamens are in groups of 3n and in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent. The stamens of the third whorl has 2 glands near base, There are 2-4 locular, with locules opening by valves.
There is one pistil and one carpellate. Thre is one locular ovary of placentation basal; one ovule; stigma subsessile , discoid or capitate. The fruits drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent floral tube . In the fruit there is one seed with endosperm
Endosperm
Endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils and protein. This makes endosperm an important source of nutrition in human diet...
absent. The fruits are poisonous to humans but have medicinal properties.
The parasite vine, Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family, Cassythaceae.
Habitat
Eusideroxylon zwageri seedlings require some shade, while older trees need plenty of light. It can be found in valleys and on hillsides and even on low ridges when soil moisture is sufficient at elevations between sea level and 625 m. The standing timber volume of trees with a diameter of over 50 cm may be as much as 90-112 m3.Silviculture
The belian has a very slow growth rate of meanMean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
radial
Radius
In classical geometry, a radius of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment, which is half the diameter. If the object does not have an obvious center, the term may refer to its...
growth of 0.058 cm per year. The belian is a canopy species in primary forests. The species is considered unsuitable for large-scale plantations due to slow growth and inadequate seed and seedling supply. Manual selection of trees in natural forests is common.
Properties
The heartwood when cut is coloured light brown to almost bright yellow. During the aging process the heartwood darkens to deep reddish brown, very dark brown or almost black. The sapwood is bright yellow when cut, and darkens slightly. The wood texture is fine and even, with a straight grainGRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
or only slightly interlocked. The timber retains a pleasant lemon odour. This odour, along with the woods' natural high lustre, make it prized by cabinet-makers and fine furniture craftsmen.
The wood is dense (0.85 – 1.1 g/cm³)? and texture is moderately fine to fine and even. Also attractive to users is the belians resistance to insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, fungi and marine borers. The wood has anti-bacterial properties (for local medicinal use)
Vessels are diffuse-porous, medium-sized and generally evenly distributed, arranged in short radial rows (2-3 vessels). Moderate abundancy of aliform paratracheal parenchyma. Growth rings boundaries are indistinct or absent. Tyloses are often present.
The belian has a radial shrinkage rate of 2-4.5% and an tangential shrinkage rate of tangential 4.5-7.5%. The timber dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid checks and splits.
The belian wood is famed for its easy working characteristics, despite high density. The wood plane
Plane (tool)
A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood. When powered by electricity, the tool may be called a planer. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on...
s, bores and turns
Turning
Turning is the process whereby a single point cutting tool is parallel to the surface. It can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using a computer controlled and automated lathe which does not. This type of...
cleanly, producing smooth and often lustrous surfaces. Nailing requires pre-bores prior to nailing. Saw
Saw
A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive...
blades and cutting instruments are only moderate blunted during working the timber. Apparently, belian wood is difficult to glue with synthetic resin
Synthetic resin
Synthetic resins are materials with a property of interest that is similar to natural plant resins: they are viscous liquids that are capable of hardening permanently. Otherwise, chemically they are very different from the various resinous compounds secreted by plants .The synthetics are of several...
s.
Durability: heartwood is rated as very durable – immune to termite attack; service life of up to 100 years in direct soil contact and more than 20 years for marine work in tropical waters has been reported.
Usage
Due to the excellent resistance to bacterial, fungal, insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
and marine borer attack the wood is highly prized for many outdoor uses. Additionally, the belian wood's high density and easy workability lend it to particularly desirability in maritime structures, dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
construction and ship building, especially Indonesia's famous pinisi
Pinisi
The Pinisi is a traditional Indonesian two masted sailing ship. It was mainly built by the Konjo tribe, a sub-ethnic group of Bugis-Makassar mostly residents at the Bulukumba regency of South Sulawesi but was and currently used widely by the Buginese and Makassarese mostly for transportation and...
sail-boat.
Common local uses include: House construction, door construction, water butts and troughs, boat building (Pinisi
Pinisi
The Pinisi is a traditional Indonesian two masted sailing ship. It was mainly built by the Konjo tribe, a sub-ethnic group of Bugis-Makassar mostly residents at the Bulukumba regency of South Sulawesi but was and currently used widely by the Buginese and Makassarese mostly for transportation and...
), tools, tool handles, talisman
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
, jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, medicinal slivers(for wounds, cuts, abrasions, bites and tooth-ache/infection), bridges, blowpipes? and spear shafts.
Internationally, it is renowned for heavy construction such as a buffer between transportation trailers and heavy steel fabrications (such as boilers, pressure vessels, reactors and many others). It is also frequently found in dry docks as a timber to separate the hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
of ships from the steel supporting stands. Other uses include use in boats and ships, industrial flooring, roofing (as shingles), fine indoor and outdoor furniture, coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
wood (esteemed by Chinese due to ability to withstand rot and insect attack) and tool handles (especially those exposed to continual high impact (belian wood does not splinter and thus injure hands, eyes or endanger the operator on catastrophic failure) such as shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
s, axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s, block splitters, sledge hammers, heavy mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
s, demolition hammer
Demolition Hammer
Demolition Hammer was a Thrash Metal band from the Bronx, New York. The band formed in 1986 and released three full-length albums between 1990 and 1994. Century Media Records made a complete anthology available in 2008.-History:...
s, mattock
Mattock
A mattock is a versatile hand tool, used for digging and chopping, similar to the pickaxe. It has a long handle, and a stout head, which combines an axe blade and an adze or a pick and an adze .-Description:...
s, picks, hoes
Hoe (tool)
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop...
and hammers). Some expert cabinet-makers treasure a belian-headed carpenter's mallet as an excellent intermediate density hammer face between the usual wood and a metal one- and is able to quite easily tap or "whack" stubborn highly-polished metal fixtures without damage to the face or the fixture.
Other sources indicate belian often used for marine constructions such as pilings, wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
s, dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
s, sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
s, dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s, ships, bridges, but also used for power line poles, masts
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
, roof shingles and house posts and to a minor extent as frame, board, heavy duty flooring, railway sleepers
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
, fencing material, furniture etc.
Endangered status
The decline of berlian which was first noted in 1955. Browne (1955) stated: “Our surviving supplies of Belian are by no means very large and undoubtedly dwindling.”Population reduction has been noted in the following regions: Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sabah, Sarawak and the Philippines.
IUCN has categorized it Vulnerable A1cd and A2cd. CITES listed II Bi (unsustainable level of exploitation from the wild for international trade). Regeneration in logged-over forests is limited.
The species is threatened by over-exploitation, predominantly by illegal migrant loggers. Current demand for the timber is fueled for its esteem among Chinese as a coffin wood (as it is resistant to insect and rot).
Included in list of vanishing timber species of the Philippines and considered almost extinct in Sabah. In Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
it exists solely in National Parks. Currently the situation is assessed as a serious depletion of stands.
The species is only planted on a small scale because the supply of seeds and seedlings is inadequate. The world-famous ITB Bogor Agricultural Institute (Insitut Pertanian Bogor)( os currently breeding a generation of plants more hardy than the wild harvested seeds
Trade
Indonesia has a total prohibition on the export of belian and cutting is restricted to trees less than 60 cm diameter measured at breast height. In Sarawak export in any form is not allowed without special permission. Sabah still allows export.Malaysian timber theft
The bulk of all belian wood is found in KalimantanKalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
, bordering the Malaysian states of almost exhausted Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and essentially extinct tracts of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
Motivated by the high price per cubic metre, Malaysian illegal loggers have been documented felling, transporting via river and river barge Indonesian protected trees into bordering Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
.
In addition to the issue surrounding the sovereignty of the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
and continuing spats over the delineation of Malaysian-Indonesian borders- this outraged the Indonesian public, who had been educated to conserve and protect this tree on pain of severe penalty rioted in protest in Jakarta and Pontianak
Pontianak, Indonesia
Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. It is a medium-size industrial city on the island of Borneo. Pontianak occupies an area of 107.82 km² in the delta of the Kapuas River...
and publicly called for the resurrection of the Crush Malaysia policy known as Ganyang Melayu albeit terming Ganyang Maling-sia (Maling: Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
for a common thief).
The government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....
dispatched heavily armed Forestry Wardens to deter the thieves. It is expected this issue will be one of the foremost challenges of the winner of the 2009 Indonesian Presidential Election, with the winner expected to take a far stronger and militant stand on Malaysian theft of resources, also , most of the South East Asian country suspected that this was an Indonesian Republic plan to take over Malaysia for its huge amount of resources or just wanted to make Malaysia 'lost their thunder' since Malaysia is one of the biggest South East Asia industrial country, even though they are smaller than the Indonesian country. Still, most of the Indonesian citizen disagree with this accusation.
Indigenous beliefs
Many DayakDayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
believe that the belian wood acts as a protective talisman
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
to avoid attack from tigers and elephants. The Dayak believe that this use of the belian talisman and the stands of belian trees was and is the sole cause of a lack of Sumatran elephant
Sumatran Elephant
The Sumatran Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian Elephant, and native to Sumatra island of Indonesia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...
s or Sumatran Tigers in Kalimantan
Kalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. The potent 'elephant and tiger repellent' is alleged to be the belian sap
Sap
Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...
(which has a strong, pleasant lemon-like odour).
Additional references
- Asian Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Viet Nam) 1998. Eusideroxylon zwageri. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 August 2007.
- A. Ajizah, Thihana and Mirhanuddin. 2007. Potensi ekstrak kayu ulin dalam menghambat pertumbuhan bakteria secara in vitro. Banjarmasin, Indonesia.
- Browne, F.G. Forest trees of Sarawak and Brunei and their products. Government Printing Office, Kuching: 1955
Delmy, A. 2001. Fire resistance of tree species in Bukit Soeharto Education Forest, East kalimantan, Indonesia. In: S. Kobayashi, J.W. Turnbull, T. Toma, T. Mori, N.M.N.A. Majid (eds.) Bogor, Indonesia, CIFOR. 27-34.
- de Guzman, E.D. Conservation of vanishing timber species in the Philippines In: Williams, J., Lamourak, C.H. and Wulijarni-Soetjipto, N. (Eds), South-East Asian plant genetic resources; Symposium Proceedings Bogor, Indonesia, March 1975. IBPGR, Bogor; 1975
- Indonesia, Republic of: Badan Perencanaan dan Pembangungan Nasional (Bappenas): Department of Planning and Development: http://www.bappenas.go.id/
- Indonesia, Republic of: Departemen Kehutanan Republik Indonesia [Department of Forestry]: Departemen Perhutananhttp://www.dephut.go.id
- Indonesia, Republic of: Komisi Nasional Sumber Daya Genetik [National Commission of Genetic Inforamtion Resources]: National Phytological Germplasm database: http://indoplasma.or.id/jaring.php/
- Kartasubrata, J. Tumpangsari method for establishment of teak plantations in Java. Tropical Agricultural Research (Japan): 1979, 12: 141152.
- Kartasubrata, J. Research support to community forestry projects on forest land in Java, Indonesia in M.E. Stevens, S. Bhumibhamon & H. Wood, eds. Research policy for community forestry in the Asia-Pacific region. p. 227-236. Proceedings of a seminar. Bangkok, RECOFTC: 1990
- Kartawinata, K. Silvicultural management of the logged natural dipterocarp forest in South-east Asia, in J. Davidson, Tho Yow Pong & M. Bijleveld, eds. Future of tropical rainforests in South-east Asia Commission of Ecology Papers, 10. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN: 1983
- Kartawinata, K., Adisoemarto, S., Riswan, S. and Vayda, A.P. The impact of man on a tropical forest in Indonesia. Ambio: 1981 vol 10(2-3): 115-119
- Kartasubrata, J. 1991. Planning and implementation aspects based on some successful agroforestry projects in Indonesia. In W. Mellink Y.S. Rao & K.G. MacDicken, eds. Agroforestry in Asia and the Pacific, p. 232-250. RAPA Publication 1991/5. Bangkok, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development. * Kasten Marine http://www.kastenmarine.com
- H. Kurokawa, T. Yoshida, T. Nakamura, J. Lai and T. Nakashizuka. 2001. The age of tropical rain-forest canopy species, Borneo ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri ), determined by 14C dating. Journal of Tropical Ecology 19:1–7. Cambridge University Press
- H.G. Richter and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 16 April 2006 http://delta-intkey.com
- Partomihardjo, T. The ulin wood which is threatened to extinction, Duta Rimba: 1981, 87-88(13): 10-15.
- Peluso, N.L. The Ironwood Problem: (Mis)Management and Development of an Extractive Rainforest Product. Conservation Biology 1992 Vol. 6, No. 2: 210-219
- Soerianegara, I. & Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Eds.) Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 5(1) Timber trees: major commercial timbers Pudoc Scientific Publishers: 1993, Wageningen
- Soerianegara, I. Ecological researches relevant to current silvicultural problems Rimba 1973, Indonesia, 17: 133- 142.
- Soerianegara, I. Forest tree improvement in Indonesia, In R. Toda, ed. Forest tree breeding in the worldTokyo, Government Forest Experiment Station: 1974, p. 146-153.
- Soerianegara, I. & Kartawinata, K. Silvicultural management of the logged natural dipterocarp forest in South-east Asia, in J. Davidson, Tho Yow Pong & M. Bijleveld, eds. Future of tropical rainforests in South-east Asia Commission of Ecology Papers, 10. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN: 1983
- Suselo, T.B. Autecology of E. zwageri T. & B. (Lauraceae) as applied to forest regeneration, In: Proceeds of Symposium: Forest Regeneration in South East Asia, Biotrop Special Publication No. 25 BIOTROP, Bogor.: 1987
- Tantra, G.M. Erosi plasma nutfah nabati : [Erosion of Germplasm phytology], J. Penelitian & Penembangan Pertanian 1983 vol 2(1): 1-5.
- UNEP and WCMC. Strategies for sustainable use and management of timber tree species subject to international trade in Southeast Asia, UNEP: 2007
- USDA Forest Service http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/techsheets/Chudnoff/SEAsian_Oceanic/htmlDocs_seasian/Eusideroxylonzwageri.html, accessed April 4, 2008
External links
- Asian Forest Network
- CITES website
- Indonesian Department of Forestry: Departmen Perhutanan: (English available onsite) at the IUCN Red List
- UN FAO
- UN EP
- Manikay
- Plant Science Images image database