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Intsia bijuga
Also called Ipil, Kwila, Merbau, Borneo Teak, Moluccan Ironwood, Johnstone River Teak, Pacific Teak
In Singapore: Merbau Ipil, Merbau Ayer, Ipil, Kwila, Kayu Besi (Native to Singapore, Critically Endangered)
Ifil (Intsia bijuga) is a large evergreen tree in the pea family, native to coastal tropical forests from East Africa through Southeast Asia to the western Pacific, prized for its very durable timber. It is a tall outdoor tree rather than a garden or houseplant, so the key to growing it is a warm, humid, frost-free site with ample room.
Intsia bijuga, commonly known as Borneo teak, ipil, merbau, Johnstone River teak, and kwila, amongst many other names, is a species of tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae, native to coastal areas from east Africa, through India and Southeast Asia to Australia and the western Pacific. It has significant importance to indigenous cultures in many parts of its range, but is also threatened by illegal logging due to its high quality timber. It is most commonly found in tropical coastal forests.
The natural range of Intsia bijuga is, in broad terms, the Indo-Pacific region. It is native to Tanzania in Africa; the Chagos Archipelago, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean; Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in the Indian subcontinent; Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nicobar Islands, Thailand and Vietnam in Indo-China; Taiwan in the South China Sea; Borneo, Java, Malaysia, Maluku, the Philippines, Sulawesi and Sumatra in Malesia; the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in Papuasia; the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia; and the Caroline Islands, Fiji, the Marianas, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Samoa, Santa Cruz Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu in the western Pacific Ocean.
The timber of this species is often used due to its durablity and termite resistance compared to other types of wood, making it suitable in engineering and construction contexts as well as decorative work. It has a density of 830 kg/m3 (1,400 lb/cu yd) and an above-ground life expectancy of more than 40 years.
[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 Intsia bijuga 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.
