Dipterocarpaceae

Dipterocarpaceae
Temporal range: Maastrichtian - recent[1]
Dipterocarpus retusus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Dipterocarpaceae
Blume (1825)[2]
Genera[3]

Dipterocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants with 22 genera[3] and about 695 known species[4] of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.[5][6] The greatest diversity of Dipterocarpaceae occurs in Borneo.[7]

The largest genera are Shorea (196 species), Hopea (104 species), Dipterocarpus (70 species), and Vatica (65 species).[8] Many are large forest-emergent species, typically reaching heights of 40–70 m, some even over 80 m (in the genera Dryobalanops,[8] Hopea[9] and Shorea),[9] with the tallest known living specimen (Shorea faguetiana) 93.0 m tall.[9] Name Menara, or tower in Malaysian, this specimen is a yellow meranti tree. It grows in Danum Valley in Sabah.[10]

The species of this family are of major importance in the timber trade. Some species are now endangered as a result of overcutting, extensive illegal logging, and habitat conversion. They provide valuable woods, aromatic essential oils, balsam, and resins, and are a source for plywood.

  1. ^ "Malvales". www.mobot.org. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  2. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  3. ^ a b "Dipterocarpaceae Blume". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  5. ^ Simon Gardner, Pindar Sidisunthorn and Lai Ee May, 2011. Heritage Trees of Penang. Penang: Areca Books. ISBN 978-967-57190-6-6
  6. ^ Pang Sean E H, De Alban Jose Don T, & Webb Edward L. (2021). Effects of climate change and land cover on the distributions of a critical botanical family in the Philippines. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 276–276. [./Https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79491-9
  7. ^ Ashton, P.S. Dipterocarpaceae. Flora Malesiana, 1982 Series I, 92: 237-552
  8. ^ a b 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. ISBN 983-2181-59-3
  9. ^ a b c "Borneo". Eastern Native Tree Society. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  10. ^ Daley, Jason (April 9, 2019). "This Is the World's Tallest Tropical Tree". Smithsonian Magazine. p. 1. Retrieved February 26, 2024.