''Spathiostemon javensis'' is a plant that can grow as a shrub or a tree in the tribe

Acalypheae The Acalypheae is a tribe of the subfamily Acalyphoideae, under the family Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the nam ...

of the family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

. It is native to the region from the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipela ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeography, biogeographical designation for a group of mainly list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australia (continent), Australian continental shelf, continental ...

and into Southeast Asia. It is often common in the understorey of forests. The wood is used in constructions.

Description

The species can grow as a shrub up to a tree some 20m high, with a

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

up to 45 cm, seldom with

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...

up to a metre high and long, some 30 cm thick. The bark is smooth and fluted, peels off in scales and strips, its colour varies through white, grey, white mottled, dark red, pale brown, dark brown to black. The wood varies from soft but is usually hard, the

sapwood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that ...

is white to brownish, while the heartwood is brownish. The leaves are elliptic to somewhat obovate in

shape A shape is a graphics, graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface. It is distinct from other object properties, such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material ...

, about 4.3-24 x 1.7-11 cm in size, smooth and glabrous, though perhaps some hairs on the lower side midrib. Flower colour from green, white, yellow to brown. Fruit is some 1-1.2 x 0.6-0.7 cm in size, and pink-brownish to reddish and yellow, with hairs. Flowering and fruiting occur all year round. ''Spathiostemon javensis'' is distinguished from its only sister species ('' Spathiostemon moniliformis'') by having: subhirsute petioles; hair tuft

domatia A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...

usually on leaves; the inflorescences are subhirsute, while the

staminate The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

inflorescences are up to 7.3 cm long; there are 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s of

pistil Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

late flowers; and the ovary and fruit are echinate (have spines).

Habitat, ecology

The tree is often common in the understorey of primary and secondary forests in shrublands, on cliffs, river-edges and even in and alongside plantations of rubber and cocoa. It favours flat to undulating country, with ability to grow in sediments that are dry to periodically inundated. Often grows in limestone soils but also alluvial, black/brown clay, clay-loam and sand. Occurs from sea level up to 670m elevation. In the

Buol Regency Buol Regency () is a regency (second-level administrative division) of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It was created on 4 October 1999, having previously been the eastern half of a larger Buol Tolitoli Regency. It covers an area of 4,043. ...

, central Sulawesi, the tree occurs in both undisturbed and disturbed forest. In the south of West Papua, on the border with Papua Niugini, small ''Spathistemon javensis'' trees are positively associated with ''

Pometia pinnata The ''Pometia pinnata'' is a tropical hardwood tree species that is widespread in the Pacific and Southeast Asian regions. The tree species has many common names, including Matoa, Taun tree, Island lychee, Tava, and Pacific lychee. The species c ...

'', a targeted logging species. At Aipiri,

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital city, capital of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of West Papua (province), West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status in Indonesia, city ...

, West Papua, the tree did not grow on the coast, but dominated the forest 600m inland, along with '' Horsfieldia irya'' and '' Myristica fatua''. At another site in Manokwari, the species was highly associated with natural ''

Intsia bijuga ''Intsia bijuga'', commonly known as Borneo teak, ipil, merbau, Johnstone River teak, and kwila, amongst many other names, is a species of tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae, native to coastal areas from east Africa, through India and ...

'' stands. The tallest, most impressive forests on

Waigeo Waigeo is an island in the Southwest Papua province of eastern Indonesia. The island is also known as Amberi or Waigiu. It is the largest of the four main islands in the Raja Ampat Islands archipelago, between Halmahera and about to the nort ...

of the

Raja Ampat Islands Raja Ampat (), or the Four Kings, is an archipelago located off of the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula (on the island of New Guinea), Southwest Papua , Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and sh ...

, eastern Indonesia, contain the species as a co-dominant, along with '' Hopea novoguineensis'', '' Homalium foetidum'', '' Mallotus floribundus'', '' Pimelodendron amboinicum'', and '' Vatica rassak'', with ''

Elatostema ''Elatostema'' is a genus of flowering plants containing approximately 350 known species in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to tropical forest clearings throughout Australasia, Asia and Africa. There may be as many as 1,000 species of this l ...

'' and ''

Piper A piper is a musician, a player of the bagpipe. As a noun proper, Piper may also refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * P ...

'' quite common in the understorey. This forest grows on alluvial and residual sandstone and volcanic soils. The plants are spread by fruit-eating birds and mammals.

Distribution

The tree/shrub is endemic to Malesia, and is found from the Bismarck Archipelago across to parts of Southeast Asia. Countries and regions that it is found in are:

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

(Bismarck Archipelago, mainland); Indonesia (

Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...

Nusa Tenggara The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pr ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

; Jawa, not present in

Sumatera Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent i ...

); Philippines (except

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

); and Malaysia (

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

where it is particularly common,

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, and

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Conservation

As stated above the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

regards the conservation this taxa as of least concern. This is because there is a large population of the trees over a very wide distribution, with no obvious current or future threats.

Vernacular names

The plant, with a wide and common distribution, has many names: Papua New Guinea: , , , , , , , , , , , ( Amele); , , , , , , ( Biliau); ( Bogia); , , , , , , , , , ( Dumpu); , , , , , , , , ( Faita); ''sarr'' (Jal); West Papua: ( Kemtuik/Kemtoek); ( Sentani); ( Berik); (

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

); ( Numfor/Numfur); ( Iria/Irian?); , , ( Sougb/Manikiong); ( Irarutu/Iraroetoe); (

Wain A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

); ''boeboeika'', ''menom'';

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...

: ( Tabaru/Tobaro); Philippines: (

Manobo The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...

); ( Waray/Waray-waray); Sabah: ( Bonggi/Dusun Banggi); , , ( Eastern Kadazan/Dusun Kinabatangan); ( Lun Bawang/Murud); ( Sungai/Sungei); ''lengkan'' (K.); Sarawak: (

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian provinc ...

); Kalimantan: ''wajan koreng''.

Uses

The wood of this species is used for constructions in sea-water in Halmahera, Indonesia, and in the Philippines for general construction. Indonesian sources describe the wood as being heavy, of strength class II (fairly strong), durability class V , and traditionally used for house pillars and bridges.tionally used as house pillars and bridges. It was identified as having a high potential as a shade-tree in merbau (Intsia bijuga, an important global commercial timber) plantations.

History

The

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

born botanist

Carl Ludwig Blume Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume (9 June 1796 – 3 February 1862) was a German-Dutch botanist and entomologist who spent most of his professional life in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. As deputy director of agricul ...

(1796-1862), described this species in 1826 in his publication ''Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie''.