Canarium Last updated September 18, 2025 Genus of trees
Canarium genus of about 120 species of tropical and subtropical trees , in the family Burseraceae . They grow naturally across tropical Africa , south and southeast Asia , Indochina , Malesia , Australia and western Pacific Islands ; including from southern Nigeria east to Madagascar , Mauritius , Sri Lanka and India ; from Burma , Malaysia and Thailand through the Malay Peninsula and Vietnam to south China , Taiwan and the Philippines ; through Borneo , Indonesia , Timor and New Guinea , through to the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , New Caledonia , Fiji , Samoa , Tonga and Palau . [ 3]
Canarium species grow up to large evergreen trees of 40–50 m (130–160 ft) tall, and have alternately arranged, pinnate leaves. [ 3] They are dioecious , with male and female flowers growing on separate trees. [ 4]
Species As of January 2024, Plants of the World Online accepts 121 species. [ 2] The brief species distribution information was sourced from Flora Malesiana , [ 3] the Flora of China (series)Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants information system
Canarium resiniferum seeds dispersed by hornbills in Pakke Tiger Reserve Canarium acutifolium (DC.) Merr. – New Guinea, Maluku, Sulawesi, New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Qld Australia Canarium album (Lour.) DC. Chinese white olive (橄欖) – Taiwan, S China, Vietnam Canarium ampasindavae Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium apertum H.J.Lam – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo Canarium arcuatum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium asperum Benth. – New Guinea, Maluku, Sulawesi, Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Solomon Is., Canarium australasicum (F.M.Bailey) Leenh. – Qld, NSW, Australia endemic Canarium australianum F.Muell. – New Guinea, Qld, NT, WA, Australia Canarium balansae Engl. – New Caledonia endemic Canarium balsamiferum Willd. – Maluku, Sulawesi Canarium batjanense Leenh. – Maluku Canarium bengalense Roxb. – India, Burma, Laos, Thailand, S China Canarium betamponae Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium boivinii Engl. – northeastern Madagascar Canarium bullatum (Leenh.) Daly, Raharim. & Federman – northern and northeastern Madagascar Canarium caudatum King – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo Canarium cestracion Leenh. – E New Guinea Canarium chinare Grutt. & H.J.Lam – Solomon Is., Admiralty Is. Canarium cinereum Guillaumin – Vietnam Canarium compressum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium copaliferum A.Chev. – Vietnam Canarium decumanum Gaertn. – E Borneo, Maluku, New Guinea, Sulawesi Canarium denticulatum Blume – Andaman Is., Burma, Sumatra, Malay Penin., Java, Borneo, Philippines Canarium dichotomum (Blume) Miq. – Sumatra, Borneo Canarium divergens Engl. – Borneo Canarium egregium Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium elegans Daly, Raharim. & Federman — Madagascar Canarium engleri H.J.Lam – Vietnam Canarium euphyllum Kurz – Andaman Is. Canarium euryphyllum G.Perkins – Philippines Canarium ferrugineum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium findens Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium fugax Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium fuscocalycinum Stapf ex Ridl. – Borneo Canarium galokense Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium globosum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium gracile Engl. – Philippines Canarium grandifolium (Ridl.) H.J.Lam – Malay Peninsula Canarium harveyi Seem. – Fiji, Niue, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Canarium hirsutum Willd. – New Guinea to throughout Malesia, Solomon Is., Palau Canarium indicum L. – New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon Is., Vanuatu, Maluku, Sulawesi Canarium indistinctum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium intermedium H.J.Lam – S Sumatra Canarium kaniense Lauterb. – New Guinea Canarium karoense H.J.Lam – N Sumatra Canarium kerrii Craib – Thailand Canarium kinabaluense Leenh. – N Borneo Canarium kipella (Blume) Miq. – W Java Canarium kostermansii Leenh. – Borneo Canarium lamianum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium lamii Leenh. – New Guinea Canarium latistipulatum Ridl. – Borneo Canarium liguliferum Leenh. – Solomon Islands (Rob Roy Island) Canarium littorale Blume – Indo-China, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Java, Borneo Canarium lobocarpum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium longistipulatum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium luzonicum (Blume) A.Gray – Philippines Canarium lyi C.D.Dai & Yakovlev – Vietnam Canarium macadamii Leenh. – New Guinea Canarium madagascariense Engl. – Madagascar (Nosy Bé) Canarium maluense Lauterb. – Sulawesi, Maluku, New Guinea, Borneo Canarium manii King – Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Myanmar Canarium manongarivum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium megacarpum Leenh. – New Guinea Canarium megalanthum Merr. – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo Canarium merrillii H.J.Lam – Borneo Canarium muelleri F.M.Bailey – Queensland endemic, Australia Canarium multiflorum Engl. – Madagascar Canarium multinerve Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium nitidifolium Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium obovatum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium obtusifolium Scott Elliot – eastern Madagascar Canarium odontophyllum Miq. – Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines (Palawan) Canarium oleiferum Baill. – New Caledonia endemic Canarium oleosum (Lam.) Engl. – New Guinea, New Britain, Timor, Maluku, Sulawesi Canarium ovatum Engl. – Philippines, cultivated Asia–Pacific Canarium pallidum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium paniculatum (Lam.) Benth. ex Engl. – Mauritius Canarium parvum Leenh. – S China, Vietnam Canarium patentinervium Miq. – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Banka, Borneo Canarium perlisanum Leenh. – Malay Peninsula (Perlis) Canarium pilicarpum Daly, Raharim. & Federman – northern and east-northeastern Madagascar Canarium pilososylvestre Leenh. – W New Guinea Canarium pilosum A.W.Benn. – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo Canarium pimela K.D.Koenig Chinese black olive (乌榄) – Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, S China Canarium planifolium Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium polyphyllum K.Schum. – New Guinea Canarium pseudodecumanum Hochr. – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo Canarium pseudopatentinervium H.J.Lam – S Sumatra, Banka, Borneo Canarium pseudopimela Kochummen – Borneo (Sarawak) Canarium pseudosumatranum Leenh. – Malay Peninsula Canarium pulchrebracteatum Guillaumin – eastern Madagascar Canarium reniforme Kochummen & Whitmore – Peninsular Malaysia Canarium resiniferum Bruce ex King – Assam and Bangladesh Canarium rigidum (Blume) Zipp. ex Miq. – New Guinea Canarium rotundifolium Guillaumin – Cambodia and Vietnam Canarium salomonense B.L.Burtt – New Guinea and Solomon Islands Canarium sarawakanum Kochummen – Borneo (Sarawak) Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. – African canarium; from Nigeria and Angola to Uganda Canarium sikkimense King – Sikkim Canarium strictum Roxb. – India, Burma, S China Canarium subsidarium Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium subtile Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium subulatum Guillaumin – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, S China Canarium sumatranum Boerl. & Koord. – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula Canarium sylvestre Gaertn. – New Guinea, Maluku Canarium thorelianum Guillaumin – Cambodia and Vietnam Canarium trifoliolatum Engl. – New Caledonia endemic Canarium trigonum H.J.Lam – Sulawesi Canarium vanikoroense Leenh. – Fiji, Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Canarium velutinifolium Daly, Raharim. & Federman – Madagascar Canarium venosum Craib – Thailand Canarium vitiense A.Gray – Fiji, Solomon Is., Samoa, Tonga, New Guinea, Bismarck Arch., Admiralty Is., Louisiade Arch., Torres Strait I's, Qld Australia Canarium vittatistipulatum Guillaumin – Vietnam Canarium vrieseanum Engl. – Philippines, Sulawesi Canarium vulgare Leenh. – Flores, Timor, Sulawesi, Maluku Canarium whitei Guillaumin – New Caledonia endemic Canarium zeylanicum (Retz.) Blume – Sri LankaUses Several species have edible nuts , known as galip nut or nangae ( C. indicum ), pili nut ( C. ovatum ), or simply canarium nut ( C. harveyi and C. indicum ). C. indicum are among the most important nut-bearing trees in eastern Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific. C. ovatum is cultivated as a food crop only in the Philippines . [ 8]
Dammar resin C. odontophyllum , known commonly as dabai or kembayau, is a species with a nutritious fruit with a creamy taste. It is hard when raw and may be pickled or softened with hot water when prepared.
Canarium album produces a fruit consumed in Vietnam, Thailand (where it is known as nam liap (Thai : หนำเลี้ยบ samo chin (Thai : สมอจีน kana (Thai : กาน้า Chinese : 橄欖 ) with an appearance of a big olive.
Canarium luzonicum , commonly known as elemi , is a tree native to the Philippines. An oleoresin , which contains Elemicin , is harvested from it.
Canarium strictum produces a resin called black dammar .
References ↑ "International Plant Names Index" . International Plant Names Index (IPNI) . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries ; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 . 1 2 Canarium L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 19 January 2024. 1 2 3 Leenhouts, P. W.; Kalkman, C.; Lam, H. J. (March 1956). "Canarium (Burseraceae)" (Digitised, online) . Flora Malesiana : Flowering Plants. Vol. 5. Leiden, The Netherlands: Rijksherbarium / Hortus Botanicus, Leiden University. pp. 249– 296. Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 . ↑ Federman, Sarah; Donoghue, Michael J.; Daly, Douglas C.; Eaton, Deren A. R. (2018). "Reconciling species diversity in a tropical plant clade (Canarium , Burseraceae)" . PLOS ONE . 13 (6) e0198882. Bibcode :2018PLoSO..1398882F . doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0198882 . PMC 6003679 . PMID 29906281 . ↑ Crome, F. H. J. (1975). "The ecology of fruit pigeons in tropical northern Queensland". Wildlife Research . 2 (2): 155– 185. Bibcode :1975WildR...2..155C . doi :10.1071/wr9750155 . ↑ Frith, H. J.; Crome, F. H. J.; Wolfe, T. O. (1976). "Food of fruit-pigeons in New Guinea" . Emu . 76 (2): 49– 58. Bibcode :1976EmuAO..76...49F . doi :10.1071/mu9760049 . Retrieved 16 Nov 2013 . ↑ Timothy M. Sefczek; Zach J. Farris; Patricia C. Wright (2012). "Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis ) Feeding Strategies at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar: An Indirect Sampling Method". Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology . - 83 (1): 1– 10. doi :10.1159/000338103 . PMID 22627178 . S2CID 207622496 . ↑ Pili Nut, Canarium ovatum , New Crop Fact Sheet. Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products. This page is based on this
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