Cotylelobium melanoxylon

Cotylelobium melanoxylon is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The specific epithet melanoxylon means "black wood", referring to the dark colour of the tree's wood.^[3] It was first described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1860 as Anisoptera melanoxylon and transferred to Cotylelobium by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre in 1889.^[4] It is the provincial tree of Surat Thani Province, Thailand.

Cotylelobium melanoxylon
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Dipterocarpaceae
Genus:	Cotylelobium
Species:	C. melanoxylon
Binomial name
Cotylelobium melanoxylon (Hook.f.) Pierre[2]
Synonyms[2]
Anisoptera melanoxylon Hook.f. Cotylelobium beccarianum (F.Heim) F.Heim Cotylelobium harmandii (F.Heim) F.Heim Cotylelobium leucocarpum Slooten Sunaptea melanoxylon (Hook.f.) Kosterm. Vatica beccariana F.Heim Vatica harmandii F.Heim Vatica melanoxylon (Hook.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Miq.

Description

Cotylelobium melanoxylon grows up to 60 metres (200 ft) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m (5 ft). The leathery leaves are lanceolate or ovate or oblong and measure up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The inflorescences measure up to 8 cm (3 in) long and bear cream flowers.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Cotylelobium melanoxylon is native to Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Its habitat is in kerangas and mixed dipterocarp forests, at elevations up to 750 m (2,500 ft).^[1]