''Semecarpus cuneiformis'' is a tree in the cashew and sumac family Anacardiaceae. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

' is from the Latin meaning "wedge-shaped", referring to the leaf base.

Description

''Semecarpus cuneiformis'' grows as a tree up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . The leaves measure up to long. Its roundish fruits measure up to in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

''Semecarpus cuneiformis'' grows naturally in Borneo, the Philippines,

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

and Taiwan. Its habitat is lowland forests from sea-level to altitude. ''Semecarpus cuneiformis'' figures in the etiological legend of the community of

Krus Na Ligas Krus na Ligas is a barangay in Diliman, Quezon City in the Philippines. It is located within the premises of the University of the Philippines Diliman. It has a population of 21,513 based on the census conducted in 2015. History Krus na Ligas wa ...

in Quezon City, Philippines, which is famous for adjoining the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman. According to the legend, the earliest settlers of the village noticed that a particular specimen of ''Semecarpus cuneiformis'', known locally as a "Ligas" tree had branches which took the form of a cross. The highly religious settlers thus named their community after the tree.

References

cuneiformis Trees of Malesia Trees of Taiwan Plants described in 1837 Taxa named by Francisco Manuel Blanco {{rosid-tree-stub