Vasilis Teodoridis:
Euphorbiaceae | Drypetes
9. Drypetes hainanensis Merrill; J. Arnold Arbor. 6: 134. 1925.
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Trees up to 20 m tall; bark gray to gray-brown; branchlets angulate; with prominent lenticels. Petiole 8-10 mm; usually transversely wrinkled; leaf blade oblong or elliptic to ovate; 5-9 x 2-4 cm; papery or subleathery; base obliquely cuneate or broadly so; margin entire; apex obtuse; lateral veins 8-10 pairs; reticulate veins dense and prominent. Male flowers clustered; axillary; pedicels ca. 4 mm; sepals 4; membranous; ovate or rounded; 6-8 mm; concave; abaxially puberulent; stamens ca. 18; filaments flattened and broad; anthers oblong; ca. 2 mm; disk annular. Female flowers usually solitary; axillary; sepals and disk as in male; ovary ovoid; 2-locular. Fruiting pedicels ca. 5 mm; drupes globose; 2-2.5 cm in diam.; scurfy-hairy; exocarp leathery; mesocarp fleshy; endocarp woody; thinner than mesocarp; 2-celled; 1-seeded in each cell. Seeds subelliptic; ca. 1.2 cm. Fl. Feb-Apr; fr. Jun-Aug.
Evergreen forests; among limestone rocks; 200-900 m. Hainan [?Thailand; Vietnam].
The timber from Drypetes hainanensis is straight; hard; nonsplintering; and fine-grained; it is used for vehicle construction; agricultural implements; machinery; etc.
The description given for material from Thailand shows a number of possibly significant differences and the identity of these plants needs investigation.