Albizia splendens Miq., Sumatra: 280 (1861)

Latin for 'magnificent'.

Synonyms
Pithecellobium confertum Benth.
Pithecellobium splendens (Miq.) Corner
Serialbizzia splendens (Miq.) Kosterm.

Description
Tree to 30(-51) m, rarely buttressed; d.b.h. to 128 cm. Bark whitish grey to black, closely reticulately fissured, shallow fissures with jugged edges formed of horizontally raised, corky plates; outer bark ochre, middle bark bright yellow, inner bark reddish brown. Sapwood light yellow; heartwood red-brown weathering to dark brown. Branchlets slightly angled to terete, glabrous, dark brown, often with transverse fissures when dry. Stipules not seen. Leaves: petiole 1-3 cm, puberulous, glabrescent, with a gland at the junctions of the pinnae, circular to oblong or obtriangular, sessile, usually sunken in the rachis and with raised margins, c. 4-7 mm; pinnae 1 pair, 2- 6.5 cm, puberulous, glabrescent, with a gland at the junction of the distal pair of petiolules, obovate- obtriangular, sunken, with raised margins, 2-3 mm; petiolules 3 mm; leaflets 1-3 pairs per pinna, rigidly chartaceous, opposite, unequal-sided, ovate, elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 5.5-11(-17) by 3.5-5.5(-11) cm, base c. asymmetrically cuneate to rounded, apex obtusely acuminate; both surfaces glabrous except for the sparsely puberulous main vein which is central or subcentral. Inflorescences composed of pedunculate glomerules, on nude branchlets below the leaves or in the upper leaf axils; peduncles to 2 cm, puberulous, often in fascicles of 4 or 5, aggregated into puberulous short panicles; glomerules consisting of c. 15 flowers. Flowers subsessile, dimorphic, pentamerous, bisexual. Calyx greenish white, subtubular, 2-2.5 mm, sparsely appressed puberulous, often unilaterally divided to the base; teeth inconspicuous, triangular, 0.2 mm. Corolla greenish white, narrowly funnel-shaped, 6-8 mm, glabrous or lobes puberulous at apex; lobes elliptic or elliptic-oblong, acute, 2.5-3 mm. Stamens white, tube equalling the corolla-tube. Ovary sessile, c. 3 mm, glabrous. Pod black or blackish brown, straight or slightly curved, often slightly twisted, rigidly chartaceous subcoriaceous, flat, sometimes slightly constricted between the seeds, glabrous, c. 18-30 by 3.5-5 cm, indehiscent, valves not conspicuously bullate over the seeds, which are held in separate, externally visible chambers. Seeds brown, often irregular on shape, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid(-obovoid), biconvex, c. 13-16 by 10-14 by 4-5.5 mm; areole horseshoe-shaped, c. symmetrical, to 6 by 1.5 mm, usually reaching beyond the middle of the seed and usually not continuous between the faces of the seed, closed. [from Flora Malesiana]

Ecology
In undisturbed mixed dipterocarp forests up to 700 m altitude. Usually on hillsides and ridges with sandy soils.

Uses
Hardwood, moderately hard and heavy, strong, without silica, c. durable, seasons slowly without degrading. Suitable for furniture.

Distribution
Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea.

Local names
Borneo: Girik, Kerek, Kerek putih, Kungker, Nahaap, Njeradung, Takorak.