Flora of Thailand
Euphorbiaceae
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Esser, Blumea 44: 184. 1999; in Radcl.-Sm., Gen. Euphorbiacearum: 380. 2001; Esser & Welzen in Welzen & Chayam., Fl. Thailand 8, 2: 554. 2007; G.L.Webster in Kubitzki, Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 11: 195 (sub Gymnanthes). 2014.— Excoecaria sect. Parasapium Müll.Arg., Linnaea 32: 123. 1863.— Excoecaria sect. Sclerocroton (Hochst.) Müll.Arg. subsect. Parasapium (Müll.Arg.) Müll.Arg. in DC., Prodr. 15, 2: 1216. 1866.— Sapium sect. Parasapium (Müll.Arg.) Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 471. 1888; Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV.147.v: 249. 1912.— Shirakia Hurus., J. Fac. Sci. Univ. Tokyo, Sect. 3, Bot. 6: 317. 1954, pro parte excl. type.
Trees, monoecious. Indumentum consisting of simple hairs. Stipules ovate to triangular. Leaves alternate, simple; blade oblong to elliptic to ovate, symmetric, base obtuse to slightly attenuate, margin serrate, apex acute to acuminate, lower surface with 0-10 marginal glands on each side, secondary nerves 15-26 pairs, arching but not joined towards the margin. Inflorescences terminal, spike-like thyrses, yellowish, unbranched, with pistillate and staminate flowers; bracts of staminate cymules triangular, at base with a pair of glands touching the axis and sometimes decurrent. Flowers actinomorphic; calyx 3-lobed (Asia and W. Pacific); petals and disc absent. Staminate flowers (3-)5-7 together; stamens 3, filament and anther of similar length; pistillode absent. Pistillate flowers 1-3 at base of staminate thyrse, sometimes absent; ovary 3-locular (Asia and W. Pacific), ovules 1 per locule, stigmas undivided. Fruits pedicellate capsules, sometimes tardily dehiscent, smooth, dry and woody. Seeds ellipsoid, without or with a very inconspicuous caruncle.
Six species, 3 in tropical Africa and 3 in tropical Asia from India to Cambodia and throughout Malesia up to the Caroline and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific; one species in Thailand. Classification: Subfam. Euphorbioideae, tribe Hippomaneae, subtribe Hippomaninae.
Shirakiopsis indica (Willd.) Esser, Blumea 44: 185, map 5; Esser & Welzen in Welzen & Chayam., Fl. Thailand 8, 2: 555, Fig. 82, Plate XXIX: 3.— Sapium indicum Willd., Sp. Pl. ed. 4, 4: 572. 1805; Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV.147.v: 251. 1912; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 26: 330. 1972; Whitmore, Tree Fl. Mal. 2: 128. 1973. 2007.— Sapium bingiricum Roxb. ex Baill., Étude Euphorb.: 513. 1858; Atlas: pl. 6, fig. 10. 1858.— Stillingia diversifolia Miq., Fl. Ind. Bat. Suppl. 1: 461. 1861.— Excoecaria indica (Willd.) Müll.Arg., Linnaea 32: 123. 1863; Verheij & Coronel (eds.), PROSEA 2, Edible fruits and nuts: 376. 1991; Purwaningsih in Lemmens & Wulijarni-Soetjipto, PROSEA 3, Dye and tannin-producing plants: 73. 1991.— Excoecaria diversifolia (Miq.) Müll.Arg. in DC., Prodr. 15, 2: 1211. 1866.— Sapium diversifolium (Miq.) Boerl., Handl. Fl. Ned. Ind. 3, 1: 296. 1900.— Shirakia indica (Willd.) Hurus., J. Fac. Sci. Univ. Tokyo, Sect. 3, Bot. 6: 317. 1954; Kruijt, Biblioth. Bot. 146: 93. 1996.
Trees up to 30 m high, base with spines and buttresses. Leaves: petiole 1.1-1.4 cm long; blade oblong to elliptic, 7-14 by 3-4 cm, length/width ratio 2.3-3.5, base obtuse, apex subacuminate to acuminate, lower surface with 2-4 glands per side, 0.25-0.4 mm in diameter, basal glands 0.5-0.9 mm in diameter and often touching the midrib, secondary nerves 18-24 pairs, veins distinct. Inflorescences 30-55 by 6-8 mm; bracts of staminate cymules 1.25-2 mm long, glands 1-1.75 by 0.5-0.9 mm. Staminate flowers: pedicel 1-2 mm long; calyx 0.6-0.8 mm long, ciliate; stamens: filaments 0.5-0.6 mm long, anthers 0.4-0.5 mm long. Pistillate flowers: 1 (rarely 2) per thyrse or absent; pedicel c. 5 mm long; calyx 1.25-1.75 mm long; ovary 2.5 mm long; style c. 1.5 mm long, stigmas 4-6 mm long. Fruits nearly globose, 18-30 by 20-32 mm, rounded at both ends or slightly attenuate at base, not or very slightly sulcate, green and becoming black. Seeds 11-13 by 7-8.5 mm, without caruncle.
T h a i l a n d.— CENTRAL: Bangkok; PENINSULAR: Surat Thani (Koh Pa-ngan, Phun Phin), Nakhon Si Thammarat (Khao Luang), Trang (Ko Chong), Phatthalung (Ban Lahm Bahm, Chawng, Lampam, Thalu Sap), Satun, Narathiwat (Tak Bai), Pattani.
D i s t r i b u t i o n.— Widely distributed from Sri Lanka and India (type) to Thailand, throughout Malesia to the Caroline Islands and the Solomon Islands.
(dots; squares: S. sanchezii (Merr.) Esser; triangles: S. virgata
(Merr.) Esser)
E c o l o g y.— Along rivers and seashores, in gallery, tidal and mangrove forests, in primary and advanced secondary forests of swampy and seasonally inundated places. Soil: clay, sand, mud. Very common to scattered. Altitude sea level up to 75 m. Flowers in Malesia collected in Dec.-Jan., June-July, outside Malesia, however, the whole year through; fruits collected the whole year through. The seeds germinate only after 318-413 days.
V e r n a c u l a r.— Krahut (กระหุด), samo thale (สมอทะเล) (Central); kue-ro (กือเราะ), khue-rak (คือรัก), ku-ra (กุระ), ku-la (กุลา) (Malay-Peninsular).
U s e s.— The timber is used for canoes and is supposed to be suitable for indoor work. Leaves have been applied to cure fever and gonorrhoea (Burkill, 1935). Fruits and leaves are boiled together with clothes as black dye, but also yellow-green colours can be obtained from it (e.g., in lower Thailand: Burkill, 1935). The green fruits are used as a fish poison, e.g., by the Dusun (Borneo). The "juice of the fruits" is applied by Kinomeri (Papua New Guinea) to cure toothache. The seeds contain a drying oil (Burkill, 1935) and can be eaten, whereas the fruit wall as well as other parts of the plant contains toxic latex, also known as fish poison (Dragendorff, 1898). In view of the variety of uses, the species is considered as an interesting crop species for places too wet for other crops (Purwaningsih, 1991).