Fagaceae FAMILY

Lithocarpus urceolaris

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree

Growth—

Lithocarpus urceolaris is a plant of the moist tropics, where it is usually found at elevations up to 1,200 metres^[1]. The varous species in this genus usually grow in regions where there can be year-round rainfall, generally disliking dry seasons. In the wild, Lithocarpus species are mainly found in well-drained soils, often growing on slopes. In cultivation they tend to be tolerant of a range of soil textures and to prefer an acid to neutral pH. Young plants usually grow sucessfully in the shade of woodland, but older trees like a more sunny position. This species is sometimes found in the wild in Kerangas forest - a type of moist, heath forest found on acidic, sandy soils that are low in nutrients, especially nitrogen^[PFAF]. Plants usually flower all year round, producing ripe fruit from August to February in their native habitat^[2].

Propagation

Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool, but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees^[3]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Lithocarpus+urceolaris>

Pollinators

Insects, Wind

References

[1]Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6 — Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors) · Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur. · 2002 · ISBN 983-2181-27-5 ↩︎A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.
[2]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
[3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
[4]A Dictionary of Malaysian Timbers — Wong T.M. · Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur · 2002 · http://Elaeocarpaceae · ISBN 983-2181-29-1 ↩︎A fairly comprehensive guide to Malaysian timbers, giving their properties and the main tree species from which they are obtained.
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎