Gluta macrocarpa

Gluta macrocarpa is a flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia.

Description

Gluta macrocarpa grows as a tree up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to. There are buttress roots up to high. The bark is brown to grey and produces latex. The leaves are elliptic or oblanceolate and measure up to long and up to wide, occasionally to long. The flowers are in. The roundish fruits are black to purple and measure up to wide.

Taxonomy

Gluta macrocarpa was first described as Melanorrhoea macrocarpa by German botanist Adolf Engler in Monographiae phanerogamarum in 1883. In 1978, Dutch botanist Ding Hou transferred the species to the genus Gluta. The type specimen was collected in Sarawak on Borneo. The specific epithet macrocarpa means 'large fruit'.

Distribution and habitat

Gluta macrocarpa is native to Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Its habitat is in forests to elevation.

Conservation

Gluta macrocarpa has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN [Red List]. The species' habitat is threatened by deforestation and conversion of land for plantations and agriculture. The species is present in some protected areas.