Myristica succedanea
Myristica succedanea
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Members of this genus are mainly understorey and canopy trees of primary woodland. They need the shade of woodland, especially when young, though can often tolerate more open positions as they grow larger. They usually succeed on a range of soil types. Most species have a superficial root system and are best grown in positions sheltered from strong winds[1]. Flowers are produced at the end of the branches[1]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required. The nuts are quite aromatic and the tree was formerly cultivated to a small extent by the inhabitants of the Northern Moluccas, probably mostly for their own use. They made little profit for the trees did not produce any great quantity of fruit and the nuts are smaller than those of the genuine nutmeg (Myristica fragrans). The Dutch political administrators ordered all the trees to be cut down so as to keep the true nutmeg pure. Even if Myristica fragrans and succedanea did hybridize spontaneously in nature, the chance that succedanea would threaten the trade in the commercial product must have been remote. Such vandalism in exterminating an interesting and useful species is to be deplored, but fortunately H. J. Lam in 1926 found wild material of this species on Gunong Mala-Mala in Tidore. Which goes to show that their diabolical acts did not altogether succeed[2].
Propagation
Seed - dries out easily, loses its viability rapidly, and cannot be stored. It is best sown in a shaded position in a nursery seedbed - germination is usually fairly quick with the seed of most species sprouting within 2 - 17 weeks[1, 2]. Grow the young plants on in a shady position, planting them out in their permanent positions when large enough. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Myristica+succedanea>
Pollinators
Bees, Insects
References
- [1]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [2]The Gardens' Bulletin Vol. 23 — Botanic Gardens Park and Recreation Department; Singapore · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A botanical journal, this one contains a revision of the genus Myristica.
- [3]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
- [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]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [6]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [7]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
- [8]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.