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process on the back with two or three cilia, inner ones longer, wit h 

 a broad oblong base narrowed abruptly into a slender filamentous 

 portion as long as the anther, which has a single process on the back 

 ending in two cilia, ivory conic silky hairy style, short cylindric 

 longer than the stameus fruit unknown. 



Obtained on hills on the east coast Pahang. Sanger Davies. 



In foliage this does not resemble any other of our species of 

 Shorea. In the form of the stamens it is distinctly like Shorea robusta, 

 " Sal " of Burmah, as also S. utiUs king, the Dammar Laut, of Province 

 Wellesley, 



Shorea materialis n.sp. Balau Betul. 



The branchlets are black. The leaves ovate with a broad base 

 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. (I have also leaf specimens 

 probably of this in a young state, 9 inches long, and 5 inches across 

 terminated by a long cusp), coriaceous above, smooth polished grey 

 when dry beneath, similar in colour, but silvery scaly, nerves obscure 

 above and slightly sunk, beneath elevate 10 to 12 pairs ; petiole 

 I inch long scurfy, scaly. Panicle 3 inches long, white scurfy, with 

 short branches, pedicels ^ inch long. Sepals in young fruit oblong, 

 obtuse, silky, in half ripe fruit linear oblong red, pubescent 4 deve- 

 loped I inch long H inch wide, ovary conic, silky. 



This, which gives the best balau timber, was found growing near 

 the sea coast at Kuala Balak and Kuala Rompin by Mr. Sanger 

 Davies. 



It resembles to a considerable extent the other species, and it is 

 possible that the two plants may be the same. The broad based leaf 

 is very unusual in our species but it closely resembles that of 

 Shorea robusta. 



As timber trees the Shoreas may be divided into two classes, (I) 

 the Serayah class with soft red resinous wood not at all durable and 

 as house furniture very liable to the attacks of the house termite 

 Calotermes domestica. To this group belong such species as Shorea , 

 leprosula viz,, S. macroptera etc. The name Meranti which properly 

 speaking belong, I believe, to species of Hopea is often nowadays 

 applied to inferior grades of Serayah. (2) The Dammar laut series, a few 

 trees with a very much harder deeper coloured high class timber, the 

 type of this group is Shorea utilis King. Damar laut number satu. 

 The Balau timber is much nearer allied to this, dark hard close 

 grained with fine rays, pores numerous but not too many. 



It seems rather remarkable that in a single genus, there should 

 be such a distinction in the timber while at the same time there 

 seems to be no other correlation between the plants except that the 

 stamens in 5. utilis, S. robusta and S. materialis are similar in 

 possessing ciliated appendages. 



H. N. Ridley. 



