Among the very first Philippine indigenous trees I really got interested to grow in Balinghasai farms is the rare Tindalo; a lesser known cousin of the ubiquitous Narra. In my younger years, I’ve heard accounts of this prized timber from small-time loggers and wood workers who said that, decades ago, Tindalo is the wood of choice for house interiors like stairs and flooring. The demand now made this tree alarmingly few and far between.
The handful Tindalo seeds I purchased from Sansin Dio of Cebu in 2008 produced robust seedlings that we were able to field plant after just a few months. I decided then to spend some time looking for specimen trees to document and maybe collect seeds from but I have never hoped that my search will just be short and unbelievably near! Mighty search huh! That turn of luck came in January 2009 when, on a walking expedition outside of the farm, my farm assistant and I noticed a few but scattered trees bearing unusually large and thick green pods. We have no idea at first whether what to call these homely, nearly leafless trees that habitate the thin forest shading the same creek running through the property. When the woody pods popped open a few months later to reveal desperately clinging black seeds with short orange coats - they were, to my amazement, the Tindalo trees I was searching for!
Habitat : Creek bank thickets
Local name : Tindalo
Trade name : Merbau
Botanical name : Afzelia rhomboidea
Family : Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
Fruiting season : Mature fruits observed in April and May
Traits : Semi-deciduous to deciduous; Drought tolerant; Low to medium altitude tree; Medium-sized tree; Nitrogen fixing; Tolerant of infertile soils; Tolerant of occasional water-logging
Used for : Timber for house construction, doors, interior works, high-grade furnitures, handicrafts, musical instruments, tools, carts and veneer; Felled branches for firewood and charcoal
Recommendations : Fallow improvement; Farms; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Timber belt; Urban greening
Native range : Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
National conservation status : Endangered Species (DENR AO 2007-1)
Threats : Forestry logging; Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial or residential plots; Cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production
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)
Philippine Woods: Principal Uses, Distribution & Equivalent Woods in Asia Pacific (A. Ella, A. Tongacan, R. Escobin, F. Pitargue, Jr.)
Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo) (3219)
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