Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

trees in the family

Dipterocarpaceae Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

. The genus is named after Sir

John Shore John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 – 14 February 1834) was a British official of the East India Company who served as Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798. In 1798 he was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of ...

, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. The timber of trees of the genus is sold under the common names lauan, luan, lawaan, meranti, seraya, balau, bangkirai, and Philippine mahogany.

Taxonomy

''Shorea'' fossils (linked with the modern

sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

, ''S. robusta'', which is still a dominant tree species in Indian forests) are known from as early as the Eocene of Gujarat, India. They are identifiable by the amber fossils formed by their dammar resin. Other fossils include a Miocene-aged fossilized fruit from the same region; this fruit most closely resembles the extant '' S. macroptera'' of the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

Description

''Shorea'' spp. are native to Southeast Asia, from northern India to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In west Malesia and the Philippines, this genus dominates the skyline of the tropical forests. The tallest documented tropical

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

is an 88.3-m-tall ''

Shorea faguetiana ''Shorea faguetiana'' is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. Along with other species in the genus ''Shorea'', it is also called '' Yellow Meranti.'' It is native to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and Thailand. It is the tallest fl ...

'' in the Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo, and in that park at least five other species of the genus have been measured to be over 80 m tall: '' S. argentifolia'', '' S. gibbosa'', '' S. johorensis'', '' S. smithiana'', and '' S. superba''. Borneo is also the hotspot of ''Shorea'' diversity with 138 species, of which 91 are endemic to the island.Ashton, P. S. "Dipterocarpaceae". In ''Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak,'' Volume 5, 2004. Soepadmo, E.; Saw, L. G. and Chung, R. C. K. eds. Government of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Species

Reproductive biology

The majority of ''Shorea'' spp. are general flowering species, which is an event that occurs at irregular intervals of 3–10 yr, in which nearly all dipterocarp species together with species of other families bloom heavily. General flowering is thought to have evolved to satiate seed predators and/or to facilitate pollination. Both explanations apparently hold merit. Flowering is thought to be triggered by droughts that occur during transition periods from La Niña to El Niño. The magnitude of a flowering event is suggested to be dependent on the timing of the droughts associated with the El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) cycle, with the largest events occurring after an interval of several years with no flowering. ''Shorea'' spp. are

insect pollinated Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, som ...

. A variety of insects have been identified as pollinators, with species within the sections of ''Shorea'' sharing the same insect pollinators. Flowering within a section is sequential within one habitat and species association to prevent competition for pollinators. Seed predation and mortality have an impact on the reproduction process of dipterocarps such as ''Shorea''. In Singapore,

crab-eating macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...

and moth larvae are known seed predators.

Uses

Many economically important timber trees belong to ''Shorea''. They are sold under various trade names including "lauan", "lawaan", "meranti", "seraya", "balau", "bangkirai", and "Philippine mahogany". (For a list of species associated with each name, see the article on Dipterocarp timber classification.) The "Philippine mahogany" sold in North America is not a true

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

at all, but a mixture of woods from the genus ''Shorea''. Other products from ''Shorea'' spp. include dammar and

illipe Illipe butter is a vegetable fat from the nut (known as the "false illipe nut") of the ''Shorea stenoptera'' tree, sometimes used as a butter substitute. Borneo tallow nut oil is extracted from this species. The word Illipe is derived from the Tami ...

. Dammar is a resin collected from a variety of species. It varies in colour among the different taxonomic groups. ''

Shorea wiesneri file:Dipterocarp Winged Seed (Shorea sp.) (15866621516).jpg, Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the Family (biology), family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John S ...

'' is listed in many websites as an important source of dammar; however, this appears to be either a trade name or a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

Borneo tallow nut oil Borneo tallow nut oil or sal nut oil is extracted from the fruit of species of genus ''Shorea'', which is native to Borneo, Java, Malaya and the Philippines. The oil is extracted from the egg-shaped, winged fruit using traditional methods in rural ...

is extracted from the egg-shaped, winged fruit of ''Shorea'' species.

Conservation status

Of the 148 species of ''Shorea'' currently listed on the IUCN Redlist, most are listed as being critically endangered. Some concerns exist regarding the IUCN's listing of dipterocarps, as the criteria used to assess the level of threat are based mainly on animal population characteristics. This is thought to overstate the threat assessment, when applied to long-lived, habitat-specific organisms such as trees. The ''Shorea'' species page gives threat classifications.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q132419 Malvales genera Wood