Hopea ponga (Dennst.) Mabb. (DIPTEROCARPACEAE)
Common names
English: Thingam.
Kannada: Doddele bogi, Haiga, Hiribogi.
Tulu: Karmara.
Tamil: Ila pongu.
Malayalam: Pongu, irumbagam.
Description: Towering evergreen trees, reaching heights of up to 40 meters; their bark is thin, smooth, dark-colored, featuring prominent patches and exfoliating in large, rectangular plates, revealing a white or yellowish interior. Leaves ovate, oblong or oblanceolate, 10-20 x 4.8 cm, truncate at base, obtuse or acute at apex; lateral nerves ca 10 pairs, obliquely curved, prominent above; petioles up to 1.5 cm long, yellow tomentose. Flowers in axillary, secund, racemose panicles, creamy white with pink tinge. Calyx 5- lobed, lobes unequal. Petals 5, ovate-lanceolate or falcate-oblong, pubescent outside. Stamens 10 or 15. Fruit ovoid, ca 1.3 cm long, green turning red when mature; wings 2, 5-7 x 1.3 – 1.5 cm.
Flowering: March – April
Fruiting: May – July.
Distribution: India: In evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Western Ghats. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.
Uses: Wood brown, hard, used for building construction, for posts, piles, beams and rafters and for making cart wheels. It has been recommended for cabinet work, brush back, inlay and turnery. It yields an excellent fuel.
