Eusideroxylon

Eusideroxylon are canopy tree species with erect or spreading branches and extremely
durable and decay-resistant wood. They are native to tropical rain forests in south-east Asia
(namely Malaysia, Indonesia—notably its islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra—and the
Philippines).

The color of the flowers is pale yellow to yellow. The flower is hermaphrodite,
actinomorphic, with 6 tepals, distributed in two whorls that overlap. There are six staminodes,
three stamens, and a simple pistil that consists of one carpel. Pollination is done by bees and
other insects. The fruits are drupes, varying in size and shape from oblong to ovate or sub-
cylindrical to asymmetric elongated or rounded. They are 8–13 cm long, 4–5 cm in diameter,
and weigh 90g-170g. Seed dispersal is by vertebrate animals such as birds, monkeys, bats and
rodents, for which the fruits are an important food source.

The thick, leathery leaves are dark green, 26–29 cm in length, with a width of 10–11
cm. Young leaves are reddish brown to yellowish red. They have a generous layer of wax,
making them glossy in appearance, and are narrow, pointed oval in shape with an apical
mucro, or 'drip tip', which enables the leaves to shed excess water in a humid environment.

Timber segments collected from 15 logged stumps in Kubah National Park, Sarawak,
Malaysia, found that E. zwageri can live more than 1000 years and that the growth rate of this
species is very slow, with a mean radial growth rate of 0·058 cm y-1. The cutting of old trees
of E. zwageri results in the species being replaced by faster growing species. The long life
span and reduced growth rate of this species may be a result of its dense and durable wood
containing abundant defensive compounds.