| Homalium foetidum |
|
| New
Record for the Flora of Singapore, discovered at Mount Faber (90m),
5 Sep 2006. Tree, bark smooth, twig brown; leaves alternate, leathery, margin coarsely toothed; |
| flowers
white, 3mm across, on spike-like scurfy racemes; petals and sepals,
soft hairy, 5 to 6 merous; a yellow hairy disc gland between
each petal pair, attracting tiny ants; style 4, shorter than
stamens. Distribution: Penang, Perak, Kelantan, Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, Celebes, Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarcks. Lowlands to 150m, often near rivers. |
 |
Common name: Puntat Ulat Puteh
See dried flowers | new and withering racemes | ant feeding on disc glands |
Uses: The hard dense timber is valued for house-building and for making household utensils and tools.