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Amboyna pine (Agathis dammara)

Dlium Amboyna pine (Agathis dammara)

Damar or amboyna pine or Agathis alba (Agathis dammara) is a plant species in the Araucariaceae, a large tree with a height of up to 65 meters, a long, round cylindrical trunk with a diameter of more than 2 meters, cultivated as an industrial forest in tropical mountains for sap that is processed into copal.

A. dammara has a grayish or light brown or black bark with slightly reddish, finely dimpled to silvery and thin scales or with lots of resin or coarse blisters, peeling off in small pieces so as to be slightly epiphytic.







Opposite leaves, oval-shaped, very variable even on a single tree, tapering towards a rounded tip, thick fleshy and light to dark green in color. Young trees are lanceolate and sharp. Old tree is long oblong with rounded top, 15 cm long, 4 cm wide with 1-8 mm stalk.

Ripe seed cones are ovoid, 10.5x9.5 cm, cylindrical with loose surfaces, basal bracts form loose cupules and are often square, conical scales are almost triangular in shape, upper corners of scales are broad and thin rounded. The seeds are subovoid, 1.5 cm long and up to 1.3 cm long on one wing.

This tree grows naturally in lowland rain forests to an altitude of 1,200 meters. It is planted for harvesting resin which is processed into copal. Resin is the sap that comes out when the bark is injured. The sap will flow out and freeze in the air. Over time this sap will harden. Sap is also obtained from underground deposits.

The plant contains limonene, biflavone, amentoflavone, β-bisabolene, β-myrcene, alkaloids, steroids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, polyphenols. Sometimes used as an Alzheimer's medicine, HIV medicine, treating memory problems, wound medicine, asthma, liniment and has antibacterial activity.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Agathis Salisb. in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 8: 311 (1807)
Species: Agathis dammara (Lamb.) Rich. in Comm. Bot. Conif. Cycad.: 83 (1826)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Agathis alba (Rumph. ex Bory) Oken in Lehrb. Naturgesch. 2(2.1): 603 (1825)
Agathis loranthifolia Salisb. in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 8: 312 (1807)
Agathis orientalis Mottet in Dict. Prat. Hort. 1: 77 (1892-1893)
Agathis pinus-dammara Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Tabl. Encycl. 3: 711 (1823)
Dammara alba Rumph. ex Bory in Dict. Class. Hist. Nat. 5: 321 (1824)
Dammara loranthifolia Link in Enum. Hort. Berol. Alt. 2: 411 (1822)
Dammara orientalis Lamb. in Descr. Pinus 2: 16 (1824)
Dammara rumphii C.Presl in Abh. Königl. Böhm. Ges. Wiss., ser. 5, 6: 596 (1851)
Abies dammara (Lamb.) Dum.Cours. in Bot. Cult., ed. 2. 6: 474 (1811)
Pinus dammara Lamb. in Descr. Pinus 1: 61 (1803)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Agathis celebica (Koord.) Warb. in Monsunia 1: 185 (1900)
Agathis hamii Meijer Drees in Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, sér. 3, 16: 462 (1940)
Agathis philippinensis Warb. (1900)
Agathis regia Warb. (1900)
Dammara alba var. celebica Hassk. in Abh. Naturf. Ges. Halle 9: 180 (1866)
Dammara celebica Koord. in Meded. Lands Plantentuin 19: 263 (1898)
Dammara orientalis var. alba C.Knight in Syn. Conif. Pl.: 45 (1850)
Dammara orientalis var. pallens Carrière in Traité Gén. Conif.: 426 (1855)

PUBLICATIONS

Farjon, A. (2010). A handbook of the world's Conifers 1: 1-526. BRILL, Leiden, Boston.

Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne.

Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

VERNACULAR NAME

Bantoanon: Balaw
Buru: Damar raja, Kisi
English: Amboyna pine, Damar, Dammar pine, Dammar kauri, Celebes kauri,
Amboina pine, Amboina pitch tree
Filipino: Dayungon
Halmahera: Koano, Kolano, Moleauno
Indonesian: Damar, Damar biasa
Java: Damar
North Sulawesi: Dama, Damaa, Damah, Damahu, Rama, Marama puti
Samar: Dayungon
Sunda: Ki damar
Ternate: Salo

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