Macaranga gigantea (Reichb.f. & Zoll.) Mull.Arg., in DC., Prodr. 15, 2 (1866)

Synonyms
Macaranga incisa Gage
Macaranga megalophylla (Mull.Arg) Mull.Arg.
Macaranga rugosa (Mull.Arg.) Mull.Arg.
Mappa gigantea Reichb.f. & Zoll.
Mappa macrophylla Kurz ex Teijsm. & Binn.[Illegitimate]
Mappa megalophylla Mull.Arg.
Mappa rugosa Mull.Arg.
Rottlera gigantea (Rchb.f. & Zoll.) Rchb.f. & Zoll. ex Kurz
Tanarius giganteus (Rchb.f. & Zoll.) Kuntze
Tanarius megallophyllus (Müll.Arg.) Kuntze
Tanarius rugosus (Müll.Arg.) Kuntze

Diagnostics
Sub-canopy tree up to 30 m tall and 50 cm dbh. Stipules ca. 43 mm long. Leaves huge, alternate, simple, 3-lobed, palmately veined, peltate, toothed margin, hairy lower surface. Flowers ca. 0.5 mm diameter, greenish, placed in bundles within bracts which are part of large branched inflorescences. Fruits ca. 7 mm diameter, green-yellow-browninsh, 2-lobed, dehiscent capsules, seeds with purple aril.

Description
Abundant pioneer tree to 30 m tall and 30-40(-50) cm dbh, usually smaller and flowering from 5-10 m; twigs stout, 10-25 mm in diam., terete, rugose, with elongate lenticels and conspicuous leaf and stipule scars, scattered with minute ferrugineus hairs and fine silvery grey simple or tufted hairs. Stipules huge, ovate to oblong, 15-60 by 10-40 mm, even larger in saplings, broadly erect, apex acute to rounded, light green, sparsely to densely covered in silvery and ferrugineus hairs, persistent in a cluster at the shoot apex, soon drying black and chartaceous. Leaves: petioles 20-40(-50) cm long, stout, to 9 mm in diam., strongly flattened on the adaxial surface and D-shaped in section, pubescent with coarse simple and tufted silvery hairs; blades huge, broadly ovate, 20-60 by 20-50 cm, often much larger in saplings, thickly coriaceous, trilobed, dissected to 1/3-1/2, deeply peltate to 2-13 cm, base broadly rounded, margin coarsely dentate, apices acute, adaxial surface sparsely to densely pubescent along the veins particularly towards the petiole insertion and the lamina scattered with minute simple ferrugineus and tufted silvery hairs, abaxial surface densely pubescent with erect simple silvery hairs and densely punctate glandular, greyish to slightly glaucous below; 1st degree venation palmate with 5-8 prominent veins, 2nd venation scalariform looping and terminating at the margins in large downward-facing conical nectaries, 3rd-4th degree venation densely scalariform, 5th degree venation weakly scalariform, finest nerves densely reticulate and prominent; young leaves reddish-brown, densely tomentose on both surfaces. Staminate inflorescences paniculate, erect, 15-50 by 10-30 cm, all axes densely silvery to ferrugineus pubescent with tufted and simple hairs, the main basal axis less densely pubescent, 4 axis orders, main axis flattened, branching from less than 1/2 of the total inflorescence length, first pair of secondary branches alternate without accessory branches; bracts narrowly ovate, 4-10 by 2-5 mm, apex acute, finely silvery pubescent on both surfaces, persistent; flower clusters with 6-15 flowers, spirally arranged and usually in groups of 2-6 on the ultimate inflorescence branches; bracteoles ovate to broadly ovate, 4-6 by 2-5 mm, margin deeply irregularly dentate with 4-8 spreading unequal teeth, apex broadly acute, veins slightly raised on abaxial surface, both surfaces densely covered with fine silvery and ferrugineus hairs. Staminate flowers c. 1 mm long, shortly pedicellate; sepals 3, free, sparsely to densely ferrugineus pubescent; stamens 2-3; anthers 4-locular. Pistillate inflorescences paniculate, erect, 12-25 by 6-12 cm, densely branched, densely silvery pubescent on all axes, 3 axis orders; bracts ovate, 3-5 mm long, margin entire, finely silvery pubescent, caducous. Pistillate flowers c. 2 mm long; calyx urceolate, densely minutely golden pubescent; ovary 2-carpellate; styles c. 1 mm long, free, persistent; stigma not dissected. Fruits 4-5 by 6-8 mm, bilocular, locules subglobose, pedicellate, evenly covered in yellow sticky glandular exudate, without processes, with scattered silvery hairs between the locules; pedicel 4-6 mm long, finely silvery to golden hairy. Seeds c. 4 mm in diam., lenticular, black, with shallow grooves, encased in a fleshy pale purple aril. [from Flora Malesiana]

Ecology
In disturbed, open sites in mixed dipterocarp forest. Very common in secondary forests and scrub. Often found along roads and on hillsides on sandy to clay soils. It has a very broad ecological range occurring from lowland coastal and swampy areas, to c. 800¨C1000 m. It is one of the earliest colonists of degraded land, but can also be found in large forest gaps within primary forest. It is regularly found to be one of the dominant tree species in regenerating forests after 10¨C20 years following the abandonment of shifting cultivation. Under good soil conditions this species can grow exceptionally quickly. It produces huge quantities of small seeds that are taken by a wide range of small birds and squirrels.

Distribution
Peninsular Burma, Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo.

Local names
Borneo: Badad, Bangauwang, Brunt, Malau, Marakubong, Merkubong, Sedaman, Talinga gajah.