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Dipterocarpus retusus
Dipterocarpaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Dipterocarpus retusus

Dipterocarpus retusus

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

A plant of low to moderate elevations in the tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations from 100 - 1,300 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, though it can tolerate 5 - 38°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 2,500 - 3,500mm, tolerating 1,550 - 4,550mm[1]. Young trees grow best in shade, but require increasing levels of light as they grow larger[1]. Prefers a deep, fertile, well-drained soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 5.5, tolerating 4.5 - 6[1]. Natural regeneration is good in secondary forest[2]. Members of this genus generally only regenerate naturally in the shade of the forest. Seedlings and saplings can persist in dense forest shade for many years. In their first 2 years the young plants cannot tolerate major openings in the canopy, but after they are well established (about 120cm tall) the canopy can be opened up around them to speed up their growth[3]. Trees are not resistant to forest fires[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dipterocarpus+retusus>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Trees of Laos and Vietnam - A Field Guide to 100 species. — Hoang Van Sam; Khamseng Nanthavong; Kessler P.J.A. · Blumea · 2004 ↩︎A detailed guide, with excellent line-drawings, to 100 of the more important trees of Laos and Vietnam. A very good work, giving lots of information about each plant. Originally published in the journal Blumea, it is available as a PDF on the Interne
  3. [3]Digital Compendium of Forestry Species of Cambodia — www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com; Phnom Penh · 2008 · http://www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com ↩︎A very detailed booklet, produced in PDF format on the internet, giving information on around 100 species of trees.
  4. [4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  5. [5]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
  6. [6]Flore Forestiere Du Globe — Chnacerel L. · Gauthier-Villars et Co.; Paris. · 1920 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Written in French, a very detailed work on the timbers of the world. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [7]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  8. [8]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  9. [9]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.