Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

somewhat difficult to penetrate. Their trunks are often gnarled,
and the bark is scaly, rough. The wood is usually heavy, hard and
durable.
Dominant trees in this vegetation are: Manilkara. hexandra,, alco
Terminalia pierrei and T. mucrcnata, Odina wodier,~~Crirtoxyl.on formosun,
Garcinia cornea, Pterospermum semisagittatum, Diospyros variegata and •
—' g.hretibides, and Cordia dichotoma.
Inland from the Beach woodland at Ifuay Yang, the evergreen Acacia
coinosa. forns a dense, continuous stand. This small, leguminous tree
is of secondary growth, developing readily where clearings have been
made in the inland forest, bordering the Beach woodland. It merges
into a Mixed Deciduous forest, or Dry Evergreen growth along streams
or in sites where there is more abundant soil moisture.
In addition to the above-named trees, other woody species in the
inland Deciduous forest are: Dipterocarpus alatus, Afzelia xylocarpa,
DialJura cochinchinensis, Lagerstroemia tomentosa, Melanorrhea usitata,
Fagraea eachincninese, Garcinia cornea, Mangifera cnloncura, Bombax
1 Salmal i a) i n s igne, Erythrophloeum succirubrum, otereospermum t'imbriatum,
Spondias pinnata and Wrightia tomentosa.
Other constant and characteristic trees along the coasts are:
the cosmopolitan Terminalia catappa, Calophyllum inophyllum, Barrington
i a 3pp., and a pand'an'" (Pandanus tectorius)", widely distributed in
Southeast Asia. Casuarlna equi£^eTi7olia 'is also planted or grows
spontaneously, especially on rapidly accreting shores, at river
estuaries and on sand spits (Fig. 100). Another species of Cauuarina,
C. junghuhniana, is often planted with _C. equisetifolia, as windbreak
along seashores. Most of these trees seldom occur inland, although
some of them are not tolerant of saline water.
(11) BAMBOO BBAKES
Bamboos represent one of the most gregarious plant associations
in Southeast Asia. They occur in Thorn, Moist Mixed Deciduous, Dry
Misted Deciduous, Dipterccarp, as well as in Wet or Moist Evergreen
forests, forming an important component of the vegetation of Southeast
Asia as in other tropical regions. Because of similar topography,
soil and climatic conaitions, bamboos are widespread and
abundant in Thailand, North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
In a particular bamboo brake there is usually one predominant species,
but the general structure, and habit of the formation remainj the
same.
In Thailand, the following genera are represented: Bambusa^, Cephalostachyum,
De nd r o eal amus, Gigantochloa, Ox yt e nan t he r a and TiiyrjpstacMiys"Individual
species have well developed habitats, and for
this reason they may be taken as indicators of different forest types.
For example, Bambusa blumenea is frequently grown along canals, .or