Review 337

REVIEW

Plant Resources of South-East Asia: Volume 5 (3) Timber trees: Lesser-known

timbers. M.S.M. Sosef, L.T. Hong & S. Prawirohatmodjo (eds., + 12 associate edi-
tors and 103 contributors), 859 pp., illus., 1998. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The
Netherlands. ISBN 90-73348-88-9. Price: NLG 425, US$ 250 (hard cover). A lower
priced paperback version will be available in SE Asia at a later date.
This is the third of three PROSEA volumes on Timber Trees. Volume 5 (1) on Ma-
jor Commercial Timbers contained the most important trade and export timbers in-
cluding the dipterocarps, and was reviewed in IAWA J ournal15: 190-191 by Elisabeth
Wheeler. Volume 5 (2), on Minor Commercial Timbers, was also reviewed by Dr.
Wheeler in IAWA Journal 17: 89-90. The current volume covers 309 genera and
about 1550 species, compared with 47 general 550 species in 5 (1) and 62 general
800 species in 5 (2). To be included in this volume, at least one species in the genus
needed to be used primarily for timber. Most are hardwoods, but eleven palm genera
are also included. In terms of the number of genera, the most important hardwood
families in this volume are Annonaceae (12), Euphorbiaceae (22), Lauraceae (10),
Leguminosae (23), Meliaceae (10), Rubiaceae (21), Rutaceae (10) and Sapindaceae
(11). Despite the large number of genera covered, many that could have been includ-
ed are not. Some of these are listed near the back of the book as "Timber yielding
species with other primary use". Not included there are rattans (see PROSEA vol-
ume 6) and bamboos (PROSEA volume 7).
The introduction for this volume covers the definition of lesser-known timbers
(little-known or only known locally, not or only marketed on a small scale), the choice
of genera, use of coded wood anatomical characters rather than descriptive text, utili-
zation of palm wood, research and development, and prospects for the future. It is just
over 6 pages long compared with the comprehensive introduction of 49 pages in
5 (1). The positive and negative effects on forest ofthe increased use oflesser-known
timbers are explored, as are the issues of sustainable forest management, market ac-
ceptance, efficient use, local knowledge, and the urgent need for botanical research,
which is of lamentably low priority in many countries in the region. The annual pro-
duction of roundwood from South-East Asia has risen dramatically in the last decade,
and countries which used to be major exporters are now net importers, e. g. the Philip-
pines and Thailand. This is leading to increased exploitation in Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia and New Guinea. The major producing countries are phasing out the ex-
port of roundwood and encouraging domestic processing into products of higher value.
Currently, Malaysia is the world's leading exporter of tropical sawnwood, and Indo-
nesia is the leader in plywood production, 80% of which is exported. Lesser-known
species can be expected to become more important as many of the better-known spe-
cies covered in volumes 5 (2) and 5 (3) become rarer, and as the use of wood-based
panels requiring less uniform timber increases. There is also a need for timbers for
local use.
As in volumes 5 (1) and 5 (2), most of the book consists of detailed descriptions of
each genus in alphabeticalorder. This approach allows for the easy location of in-
338 IAWA Journal, Vol. 19 (3),1998

formation on a particular genus, but does mean that related genera with similar mor-
phological features and wood anatomy are often widely separated. The format is not
quite the same as in the previous two volumes. Of necessity, each genus account is
shorter, with no information on trade groups (which probably don't exist in most of
these genera) and a condensed botanical description. Wood anatomical descriptions
are not in the main accounts in this volume, but in a chapter entitled "Microscopic
wood anatomy". In the genus accounts, there are fewer line drawings of tree habit,
flowers and fruits than in the previous two volumes, and only the transverse surface
of the wood is shown (at about x20), whereas in 5 (1) and 5 (2), TS, TLS and RLS
were shown. Apart from these differences, the details given in each genus account are
similar to those in 5 (1) and 5 (2), covering genus name, authority(ies), chromosome
numbers, vernacular names, origin and geographical distribution, uses, produetion
and international trade, properties, botanieal deseription ofthe tree, eeology, silvicul-
ture, genetic resourees, prospects, literature, and, where relevant, more detailed infor-
mation on particular species.
The ehapter on "Mieroscopic wood anatomy" is a welcome inclusion in this vol-
urne. Detailed descriptions of wood anatomy were included in 5 (1) and 5 (2), but
eondensed deseriptions using the "IAWA list of mieroseopie features for hardwood
identifieation" (IAWA J. 10, 1989: 219-332) were not provided. The character lists
in this volume will be invaluable to those who need to identify wood, and are in a
format suitable for computerisation. It is a pity that an the genera in the previous two
volumes could not also have been included in this chapter, which would have increas-
ed its length by about one third. However, the amount of work needed to produce the
character lists here must have been substantial! Each genus aecount would also have
benefited from the inclusion of TLS and RLS photographs. These would not have
taken up much more space, and would have been more consistent with volumes 5 (1)
and 5 (2) as wen as providing mueh useful information with little extra effort. This is
my only major criticism of the current volume.*
The "Table of wood properties of selected speeies" covers about 150 genera in
varying detail, i. e. half of the genera in the book. The numerous gaps in our knowl-
edge are easy to spot, and are a good indication of where further research is needed.
This chapter is followed by a list of species which yield timber but have another
primary use, and also makes very interesting reading. Some species belong to genera
eovered in this or in other volumes of the series, whereas there are plenty of genera
not covered at an in volumes 5 (1-3). The enormity of the task in choosing which
taxa to cover, and in what detail, is brought horne by this extensive list of species.
This volume has 1274 literature references, many more than the 817 in 5 (1) and
747 in 5 (2). The last few pages include acknowledgements, a glossary, sources of
illustrations and photographs, indexes of scientifie and vernacular names, details ab out
PROSEA, and a map of the region. The glossary is slightly longer than those in vol-
umes 5 (1) and 5 (2), and the terms explained differ a little. The introduetion of

*) This will be remedied in the electronic version of volumes 5 (1-3) on CD-ROM, currently
in production, which will contain an interactive identification key to all commercial timber
genera using IAWA codes (Ed.).