Cultivation Details
A plant of lowland areas in the moist tropics, where it is rarely found at elevations over 100 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is around 24 - 27°c and the mean annual rainfall is around 2,000 - 4,000mm[2]. Older plants succeed in a sunny position, but seedlings and saplings require some shade[2]. The plant is found in the wild on heavy alluvial clay in the inland swamps, or sometimes on coarse sand and white clays[2]. A slow-growing plant[3]. The fastest rate of growth was recorded in trees aged over 6 years which increased in diameter by 8mm dbh/year and in height by up to 12.5 cm[3].
Propagation
Seed - they have no dormancy and only a short period of viability so are best sown as soon as they are ripe. Pre-soaking them for 24 hours in warm water can speed up the germination process[1]. The seeds are sown in sand or a mixture of sawdust and soil (at a ratio of 2:1) in shady conditions in a nursery seedbed. The seedbed should be covered with transparent material (such as plastic) to avoid excessive moisture loss. The seeds start to sprout after about 5 days, and nursery germination is completed after about 30 days[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual containers as soon as they are large enough to handle, using peat or peat + charcoal powder as the growing medium. Keep them in a shady position and, after about 8 - 11 months, when the seedlings are about 20 cm tall, they are ready for planting out[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Gonystylus+bancanus>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
- [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [3]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.
- [4]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