254 



as large. The wood is heavier and more compact with distinct 

 rings, small numerous pores, and line but unequal rays joined by 

 transverse bars like the wood of Baccaurea. Weight 51 lbs. It is 

 a better wood than that of the two previous ones and is used for 

 planks, beams etc. 



Trema amboinensis, Bl. Narong. 



A shrub hardly a tree with soft and light pale reddish wood, 

 rings fairly distinct, rays narrow unequal and rather distant. 



Common in secondary growths and thickets. This wood is only- 

 used as firewood here, but in India and Ceylon is valued to make 

 charcoal for gunpowder and fireworks. It appears to be a bigger 

 plant in India and of rapid growth. Gamble mentions a tree which 

 grew 25 feet in five years with a girth of 40 inches and gives the 

 weight at 28 lbs. per cubic foot, S. 24-28. He says it may be used 

 in plantations to keep down grass jungle and is used to shade 

 coffee. Here through rapid in growth it usually stops soon only 

 attaining a height of 12 or 15 feet. The bark gives a fibre used in 

 India. 



Antiaris toxicaria^ Bl. Ipoh or Upas Tree. 



A tree of vast size with thick bark and white soft wood. It 'is 

 well known for its poisonous latex used in the Sakai dart poison. 

 Weight 37 lbs. 2 ozs. 



Sloetia sideroxy/on, Teysm. Tampinis. 



This valuable tree occurs all over the Peninsula and in the Rhio 

 Archipelago. 



It attains a height of 60 to 80 feet, trees of that size are now 

 rave. It has small dark green lanceolate rather papery leaves, the 

 ma'e flowers in a yellow catkin, at the base of which are one or 

 more female flowers which are larger and green. The fruit is white, 

 and the succulent surrounded by two swollen white sweet sepals, 

 which by pressure eventually eject it. The twigs and leaf stalks 

 contain a small amount of white latex. 



The timber is one of the best in the Peninsula;, being hard and 

 durable, attacked neither by white ants nor by fungi. The sapwood 

 is light coloured yellowish white, the heartwood dark red. Though 

 there is usually a considerable amount of sapwood, yet even that 

 is hard and good and appears to be what the Malays know as 

 Tampinis putih. When fresh cut the tree exhales a peculiar strong 

 odour. The heartwood is dark brown or red brown with irregular 

 darker rings broad and distant, pores in rows numerous small and 

 containing a resinous matter, rays very fine much finer than the 

 pores. 



Newton gives its weight as 61-41 lbs. per cubic foot. Specimens 

 from Singapore weigh 54 lbs. 6 ozs. to 78 lbs., from Lingga 70 lbs. 

 5 ozs. 



Newton says that it shows the greatest strength of any wood he 

 examined ( 1 ,732 lbs. being given as its breaking weight, against 

 1,529 lbs. in Daru, the next highest) but it appears to be deficient 



