Local name : Ipil
Trade names : Ipil, Moluccan ironwood, Merbau
Botanical name : Intsia bijuga
Family : Fabaceae - Caesalpinoideae
Specimen height : 25-30 meters
Fruiting season : October to December
Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Nitrogen fixer; Salt spray tolerant; Seasonal water-logging tolerant; Wind hardy
Recommendations : Agroforestry; Boundary marker; Coastal stabilization; Erosion control; Fallow improvement; Farms; Honey tree; Large avenues; Large gardens; Living fence; Mangrove and riparian management; Ornamental tree; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber plantations; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak
Used for : Seeds are made edible by soaking in salt water for 3-4 days and then boiled; Bark and leaves have medicinal uses; Timber used for heavy constructions, house building, posts and beams, furnitures, canoe making, handles for weapons, wooden artifacts and carving; Felled branches used as fuelwood
Native range : Madagascar, The Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, New Guinea, Australia and the neighboring Pacific islands
National conservation status : Endangered Species (DENR AO 2007-1)
Further readings :
DENR Administrative Order 2007-1 (Establishing the National List of Threatened Philippine Plants and their Categories, and the List of Other Wildlife Species)
Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry - Intsia bijuga (R.R. Thaman, L.A.J. Thomson, R. DeMeo, F. Areki and C.R. Elevitch)
Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (581)
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