Volume 9 > Part 3 > Year 2008 > Page 265 > Fagaceae > Lithocarpus

9. Lithocarpus craibianus Barnettwfo-0000229834

Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1938: 103. 1938; Quer. Rel. Fag. Asia: 133. 1940; Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 34: 334. 1944; Hjelmq., Dansk Bot. Ark., 23.4: 480. 1968; C.C.Huang, Y.T.Chang & B.M.Bartol. in C.Y.Wu & P.H.Raven, Fl. China 4: 343. 1999. Fig. 50.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Tree, 5–20 m high, 60–100 cm girth. Twigs pubescent then glabrescent, greenish-black, lenticellate. Bark greenish-brown, 2 cm thick, longitudinally furrowed; inner bark brown. Leaves oblong to elliptic-oblong, 9–16 by 3–6.5 cm; base slightly cuneate or obtuse and oblique; apex acute to caudate; margins entire; coriaceous, glabrous and dull dark green on the upper surface, sparsely silvery-tan pubescent then glabrescent on the lower, all reddish- brown when dry; midrib and nerves prominent on the lower surface, subdepressed on the upper, pinkish when dry; lateral nerves 9–13 pairs, arched and more or less anastomosing, scalariform veins conspicuous on the lower surface. Petiole 1–2.5 cm, glabrous, blackish when dry. Inflorescences male and female separate or female below, terminal and axillary, tomentose. Male inflorescence a spike or panicle, spikes or spikelets 4–10 cm long; bracts and bracteoles ovate, 1–2 by 0.5–1 mm, pubescent outside. Male flowers in (2)–3-flowered cluster; calyx 6 lobed, 1–1.5 mm long, lobes divided ⅓ to ½ to the base, pubescent outside; stamenss 12, 1.5–2 mm long, glabrous; rudimentary ovary subglobose, ca 1 mm in diam., hirsute. Female inflorescence spike 6–14 cm long, rarely branched. Female flowers always in 3-flowered cluster, other characters as in male flowers; styles 3, divergent; stigmata pointed. Acorns sessile ovoid to conical, 1.5–2 by 1.3–1.7 cm (including cupule); on erect infructescence 6–18 cm long; acorns free, but usually in clusters; indehiscent. Cupule ovoid, completely enclosing the nut except the umbo; wall comprising alternate and greenish-brown triangular scales, fused in the lower half, the upper half free and upward pointing. Nut 1, ovoid to conical 1.3–1.8 by 1–1.5 cm; scar up to ⅕ from base of the nut.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Chiang Mai (type: Kerr 140), Chiang Rai, Lamphun; NORTH-EASTERN: Phetchabun, Loei; SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi; SOUTH-EASTERN: Trat; PENINSULAR: Ranong.

Distribution : China, Laos.

Ecology : Lower montane rain forests to dry evergreen forests, savannas forests, 150–1,650 m (most commonly 1,000–1,600 m). Flowering: January–December (most commonly January–May); fruiting: January–December (most commonly January–May).

Vernacular : Ko suthep (ก่อสุเทพ), ko mon (ก่อหม่น), ko hin (ก่อหิน)(Northern).

Uses: Nuts are eaten by wild animals.