ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW. 



BULLETIN 



OF 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 



No. 4.] 



[1907. 



XXIII.-GUTTA PERCHA TREES OF THE MALAY 



PENINSULA. 



J. S. Gamble. 



The recent publication by the Asiatic Society of Bengal of 

 Part 17 of the « Materials for a Flora of the Malay Peninsula," by 

 Sir George King and the writer, makes it possible to attempt 

 to identify the chief trees, mostly belonging to the natural 



tt 



It appears that, so far as is at present known, the Sapotaceae of 

 the Malay Peninsula belong to eight genera and include 50 species, 

 mostly large trees, valuable not only for gutta percha but as yield- 

 ing strong and durable timbers, mostly of a reddish colour, hard, 

 and suitable for building purposes and engineering work. The 

 species are here enumerated, with such information about them as 

 has been obtained : — 



1. CHRYSOPHYLLUM, one species, C. Roxbarghii, G. Don. The 

 Star-apple; a moderate-sized tree with edible fruit and useful 

 wood. 



2. SARCOSPERMA, one species, S. paniculatum, Stapf & King. 

 A moderate-sized tree chietiy found among large bamboos, on 

 river banks, or in mixed forest ; not known to be a producer of 

 gutta percha. 



3. SlDEROXYLON, five species, with a sixth (S. Wallichianum, 

 G. Don) of doubtful identification. The most important species is 

 S. malaccense, Clarke, which, according to Mr. Cantley, gives the 

 valuable i Daru ' or ' Dedaru ' wood. This statement is, how- 

 ever, objected to by Mr. H. N. Ridley, who says, in the Agri- 

 cultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States for 

 March, 1906, that the * Daru ' trees he had been shown in 



certainlv did not belong: to this species. He thinks that 



Sumatra 



than 



of it coming from Sumatra. The question ought to be gone into 



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