Shorea javanica
Shorea javanica
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Damar is a plant of the lowland, humid tropics, where it is found at elevations from sea level to about 500 metres[1]. It grows in areas where the mean annual temperature is about 25°c, and the mean annual rainfall is 1,600 - 3,500mm, with a dry season of less than 6 months[1]. It succeeds in areas with no dry season, but generally grows better with a dry season[1]. Seedling trees grow best with some shade, but by the time they are 4 metres tall they require a sunny position[2]. The tree grows best on deep loamy soils, though it can succeed on various soils from quite deep loamy alkaline soils to sticky acid clays[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.5[3]. Growth is moderately fast; trees may reach a height of 40 - 50 metres in 50 years[1]. Flowering and fruiting intervals are irregular, possibly every 3 - 5 years; flowering is gregarious and correlated with a previous drought period[1]. The harvest of resins begins when the tree is 15 - 50 years old and continues for 30 years. At 50 years of age the tree is already physiologically old because of reduced photosynthetic and metabolic capacity due to regular tapping, hence the silvicultural rotation lasts approximately 50 years[1]. With an approximate density of 100 trees/hectare, the average production of resin is an estimated 48 tonnes/ hectare per year[1]. There is a decrease in resin production when the tree is flowering and fruiting, with the tree only gradually reaching its maximum production again 1 year later[1]. Seedlings need shade until they reach a height of about 1.5 metres. Then the shade trees can be gradually removed to provide sunlight[1]. The young trees, when exposed to full sunlight, show a tendency to form multiple leaders[1]. Mycorrhizae on the roots of the tree, especially the ectomycorrhizae, appear to increase the tolerance of trees to drought, high soil temperatures, soil toxicity (organic and inorganic) and extremely low soil pH caused by high levels of sulphur or aluminium[1].
Propagation
Seed - there is no dormancy and so pre-treatment is not necessary[4]. Mature seeds, sown immediately after collection, germinate well (about 96%), but storage often causes rapid deterioration[1]. However, seeds collected 4 and 2 weeks before maturity show only 66% and 79% germination immediately after collection, but their loss of viability during storage is much less[1]. Seeds that are collected from the ground must always be sown immediately[4]. Sow the seed in containers and plant out when 20 - 25cm tall. The seed can also be sown at high densities in nursery seedbeds. The seedlings are not thinned and the high density means that individual plants grow slowly - no more than 20 - 30cm tall after 4 - 5 years. When planted out, the seedlings grow away normally. In this way, seedlings can be available for planting out even in years when seed production is poor. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Shorea+javanica>
Pollinators
Thrips, Insects
References
- [1]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.
- [2]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [3]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.
- [4]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.
- [5]Gums, Resins and Latexes of Plant Origins. — Coppen J.J.W. · FAO, United Nations; Rome · 1995 · http://www.fao.org/docrep/ · ISBN 92-5-103757-4 ↩︎A handbook published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, it provides good basic information on the sources and uses of the various gums, resins and latexes. It can be downloaded from the Internet.