Knema latericia Elmer, Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 5 (1913)

Latin for 'brick red'.

Synonyms
Knema conferta var. borneensis Warb.
Knema latericia var. albifolia J.Sinclair
Knema latericia var. latericia J.Sinclair
Knema meridionalis J.Sinclair
Myristica conferta var. borneensis (Warb.) Boerl.
Myristica ridleyi Gand.

Diagnosis
Sub-canopy tree up to 23 m tall and 29 cm dbh. Slender tree, pyramidal in outline; trunk without buttresses; bark (reddish) brown or chocolate, scaly or flaking in fairly large elongate portions, not furrowed; inner bark pink or reddish, sapwood white, pale yellow, or pale brown, sometimes with streaks. Leaves dark green with whitish green midrib above, glaucous beneath. Flowers outside yellow brown or rusty, red inside; disc pink. Fruits yellow brown or dark rusty.

Description
Erect shrub or tree 2-23 m. Twigs (1-)2-4 mm diameter, sometimes +/- angular, at first with rough, rusty, grey-brown, or yellowish brown hairs 0.5-2 mm long, glabrescent; bark striate or fissured, cracking, later on coarsely or finely flaking, or not. Leaves membranous or thinly coriaceous, oblong to (ob)lanceolate, 8-30 by 1.5-9 cm, apex acute(-acuminate), base attenuate to rounded, drying brown or greenish above; lower surface glabrous, grey(-brown) or whitish, not obviously papillate; dots absent; midrib raised above, nerves 9-25(-30) pairs, raised; venation faint or distinct; petiole (5-)10-18 by 1.5-3.5 mm. Inflorescences: sessile, brachyblast simple, warted or furcate, up to 10 mm long, in male 3-20-flowered, female 2-10-flowered; flowers with pale brown to rusty hairs 0.2-0.7 mm long; perianth 3- (or 4-)lobed, red inside. Male flowers: pedicel 2-6 mm long, bracteole caducous, median to subapical; buds depressed obovoid or depressed globose, 3-3.5 by (3-)4-4.5 mm, cleft 2/3-4/5, lobes 0.5(-1) mm thick; staminal disc circular, flat, +/- convex, or low-mammillate, 2 mm diameter; anthers 9-12, shortly stiped, 0.5 mm long, horizontal, not touching; androphore 1 mm long. Femaleflowers: pedicel to 1.5 mm long, bracteole subapical; buds much larger than in male, obovoid, 5-8 by 4-5 mm, cleft 1/3-2/3, lobes 0.5-1 mm thick; ovary subglobose to ovoid, 2.5-3 mm long; the stigma subsessile, +/- 2-lobed and each lobe again deeply (3-)4-6-serrate. Fruits 1-4 per infructescence, broadly ellipsoid to obovoid, sometimes subglobose, apex rounded, (1-)1.5-3 by 1-2.5 cm, with rough hairs 1-2 mm long; dry pericarp (1-)2-3 mm thick, the fruiting pedicel 2-5 mm long. [from Flora Malesiana]

Ecology
In undisturbed mixed dipterocarp, keranga, and sub-montane forests up to 1500 m altitude. Usually on hillsides and ridges, but also along rivers and streams and swampy sites. On sandy to clay soils.

Distribution
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines (Palawan).

Local names
Borneo: Dara'ah, Kumpang, Mendarahan.