Synonym: Cratoxylon indicum.
Names: Kulai, merlai, beka.
Region: east Asia, southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.
Habitat: sub-canopy plant; undisturbed forest, (peat)-swamp, mangrove, coastal forests; elevations up to 300 metres; thickets, open secondary forests; on alluvial sites, well-drained hillsides and ridges, in sandy to ultrabasic soils.
Culture: threatened species.
Use: food, young shoots as a raw vegetable, young leaves for tea; medicine; wood for 'derum' timber; ornamental; bark for brown dye is obtained from the bark; wood for woodcuts, interior construction, fuel, charcoal.
Source: Vial.
BotanyDeciduous shrub or tree; 3 - 45 metres tall; golden-yellow resin.
Stem: spreading, long thorns on its lower part; straight or leaning; 39 cm in diameter; slightly fluted at the base; reddish wood is fine-grained, very hard, flexible, durable.