Dipterocarpus zeylanicus
Encyclopedia
Dipterocarpus zeylanicus, commonly known as Hora in Sinhalese, is a species of Dipterocarpus
that is endemic to Sri Lanka
. It is a large tree that grows up to 40 - 45 m tall and 4 - 6 m in circumference. The bark is light pinkish brown or light yellowish brown. Leaves are big and oval, 5 to 8 inches long. The sharp-edged leaves are covered with silver hairy. Flowers bloom in April and seeds have two wings to spread from wind. The bark contains considerable amounts of gray caller oleo resin. D. zeylanicus can be found in moist low country like Ratnapura, Kaluthara, Galle & Mthara districts and also in the Sinharaja rain forest.
It is used as a strong and hard wood and a weight of 54 lbs per cubic foot. The heartwood is light pinkish to dark reddish brown. After a preservative treatment, it is used for railway sleepers, rafters, electric posts, beams, joists, heavy types of carpentry work, and eminently suitable for under water work.
A forest plantation of Dipterocarpus zelanicus is found in Handapangoda (about 50km away from Colombo along the Colombo-Ingiriya main Road). It has been established by the Forest Department of Sri Lanka and has an extent of nearly 20ha.
Dipterocarpus
Dipterocarpus is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus has about 70 species, occurring in Southeast Asia. It is an important component of dipterocarp forests...
that is endemic to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. It is a large tree that grows up to 40 - 45 m tall and 4 - 6 m in circumference. The bark is light pinkish brown or light yellowish brown. Leaves are big and oval, 5 to 8 inches long. The sharp-edged leaves are covered with silver hairy. Flowers bloom in April and seeds have two wings to spread from wind. The bark contains considerable amounts of gray caller oleo resin. D. zeylanicus can be found in moist low country like Ratnapura, Kaluthara, Galle & Mthara districts and also in the Sinharaja rain forest.
It is used as a strong and hard wood and a weight of 54 lbs per cubic foot. The heartwood is light pinkish to dark reddish brown. After a preservative treatment, it is used for railway sleepers, rafters, electric posts, beams, joists, heavy types of carpentry work, and eminently suitable for under water work.
A forest plantation of Dipterocarpus zelanicus is found in Handapangoda (about 50km away from Colombo along the Colombo-Ingiriya main Road). It has been established by the Forest Department of Sri Lanka and has an extent of nearly 20ha.