Polyalthia cauliflora Hook.f. & Thomson, Fl. Ind. 1 (1855)
(Latin for 'flowers placed on the stem')

Synonyms
Desmos desmanthus (Hook.f. & Thomson) Safford; Guatteria palembanica Miq.; Guatteria teijsmannii Miq.; Monoon teijsmannii (Miq.) Miq.; Polyalthia beccarii King.; Polyalthia macrorhuncha Miq.; Polyalthia teijsmannii (Miq.) King; Uvaria cauliflora Wall.

Description
Understorey tree up to 14 m tall and 13 cm dbh. Stipules absent. Leaves alternate, simple, penni-veined. Flowers with ca. 32 mm long petals, yellow-orange, cauliflorous. Fruitlets ca. 8 mm long, purple, placed in apocarp, fruitlets 1-2-seeded.

Ecology
In undisturbed forests up to 1670 m altitude. Mostly in dry forests, but also found in fresh water swamps. On clayey loam soils. Usually on hillsides and ridges. In secondary forests usually present as a pre-disturbance remnant.

Distribution
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, West-, Central-, and East-Kalimantan).

Local names in Borneo
Lia padang, Merpisang, Semukau.