| Massing or Masting ? |
29
Oct 2005
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| A
short & amicable discourse by Dr. Shawn Lum I've always been confused by this mass/mast issue too. The production of seeds is referred to as a "mast" -- I think it is an archaic English term that relates to the production of seeds by oaks, beeches, etc. Therefore the production of dipterocarp seeds is also a "mast" and the event is a "masting". Where the confusion comes in is that because dipterocarp masting takes place on a large but supra-annual scale, they are also "mass flowering" and "mass fruiting" events in that so many trees participate in the flowering, and the production of seeds in the mast is so tremendous. Occasionally we hear and read of "mast |
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So I guess the best I can come up with is to say that masting by dipterocarp comprises enormous mass flowering and fruiting on an infrequent, supra-annual basis. What a crazy language English is!
Take a peek at some of our native Dipterocarps:
Mersawa (Anisoptera spp.), Merawan (Hopea spp.), Keruing (Dipterocarpus spp.),
Meranti (Shorea spp.) and Resak (Vatica spp.)
and The Web of Life -- the forest is not just a collection of trees...