Scolopia spinosa (Roxb.) Warb.

Tree (6-)10-15(-27) m, rarely a shrub; old trunks grey, smooth, unarmed, but both young ones and suckers heavily armed with branched spines, young twigs not rarely with axillary, simple thorns. Leaves broadly cuneate, rarely subrotun-date at the base, beautifully rose-coloured when young, ± coriaceous, glabrous, 8-18 by 3.5-8 cm, nearly entire to remotely crenate; petiole 6-12 mm. Racemes 2-4.5(-6-8) cm. Pedicels 7-11 mm. Flowers sordid-white. Sepals ovate, white-greyish to yellowish-tomentose outside, 2.5-4 mm. Petals ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, ciliate, somewhat larger than the sepals. Berry apiculate to mamillate, 1.75-2.5 cm diam., green or brown-green to greenish-purplish, black when dry, with 6 or more, rarely up to 20 red and bitter seeds.

Both in mixed primary and secondary rain-forest and in teak-and other deciduous forest, often on calcareous soil, whether or not on riversides, up to 1100 m. Fl. Jan.-Dec.

Uses. Sapwood dirty-white, heart-wood orange-red, fairly hard and moderately durable; used by the Bajans (Sandakan) for fencing purposes, and for house-building in Sumatra. Fruit said to be edible.

Plants can be grown from seeds.