Koompassia excelsa
Encyclopedia
Tualang or Koompassia excelsa, is an emergent tropical rainforest
tree
species
in the Fabaceae
family
. It is found in Indonesia
, Malaysia, the Philippines
, and Thailand
. It is one of the tallest tropical tree species: the tallest measured specimen is 85.8 m or 88 m tall.
Tualangs grow mostly in lowland rainforests where they tower over the canopy. Like most tall rainforest trees it has huge buttress roots to support it weight. This is because the majority of the nutrients in rainforest soil are very near the surface, making large spreading roots more effective than deep ones.
Tualangs grow branches above the canopy (around 30 m) and have slippery trunks, which makes them attractive to giant honey bees Apis dorsata
who hang their huge combs from the branches. The bees protect the trees from loggers, as the value of the honey is higher than that of the timber. There is also a taboo against felling the tree in parts of Sarawak
, and only naturally felled trees (due to storms) are used for timber.
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It is found 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...
, Malaysia, 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...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It is one of the tallest tropical tree species: the tallest measured specimen is 85.8 m or 88 m tall.
Tualangs grow mostly in lowland rainforests where they tower over the canopy. Like most tall rainforest trees it has huge buttress roots to support it weight. This is because the majority of the nutrients in rainforest soil are very near the surface, making large spreading roots more effective than deep ones.
Tualangs grow branches above the canopy (around 30 m) and have slippery trunks, which makes them attractive to giant honey bees Apis dorsata
Apis dorsata
Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee, is a honey bee of southern and southeastern Asia mainly in forested areas like the Terai of Nepal...
who hang their huge combs from the branches. The bees protect the trees from loggers, as the value of the honey is higher than that of the timber. There is also a taboo against felling the tree in parts 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...
, and only naturally felled trees (due to storms) are used for timber.
Sources
- Asian Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Viet Nam) 1998. Koompassia excelsa. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.