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Dryobalanops aromatica
Also called Malay Camphor, Borneo Camphorwood, Camphor Tree, Indonesian Kapur, Sarawak Kapur, Sumatra Camphor, Sumatran Camphor
3 NParks heritage trees in Singapore: Found in Singapore Botanic Gardens, Lawn E; Found in Singapore Botanic Gardens, Lawn H; Found in Singapore Botanic Gardens, Lawn O, near HT Kapok Tree
Borneo camphor is a very large forest tree from Southeast Asia, prized historically for its camphor-scented resin. It is not a common garden or houseplant and is grown only in tropical forestry or botanic settings.
Dryobalanops aromatica, commonly known as Borneo camphor, camphor tree, Malay camphor, or Sumatran camphor, is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The species name aromatica is derived from Latin (aromaticus meaning spice-like) and refers to the smell of the dammar (resin). This species was one of the main sources of camphor and attracted early Arab traders to Borneo, at that time being worth more than gold, and used for incense and perfumes. Marco Polo reported that the finest camphor came from Fansuri, which referred to Barus in present-day Sumatra. However, the species is known more as a source of camphor oil or borneol, a source of confusion noted since Burkill for the confusion with the product of Cinnamomum officinarum.
It is found in Sumatra, peninsular Malaysia, and Borneo.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dryobalanops aromatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
