Mamalis

COMMON NAME:
Mamalis

LOCAL NAMES:
hagbujo, hagbuyo (Bohol); pangantoon (Cebu); tikala (Negros Oriental, Siquijor); balinkawayan, bolonkoyan (Panay)

DISTRIBUTION:
Endemic species very common in secondary and savannah forests at low to high altitudes of up to 1,400 masl from Northern Luzon, Palawan to Mindanao; very common and widely distributed in Central Visayas.

PROPAGATION:
By seeds.

DESCRIPTION:
Habit:
Medium drought-resistant tree growing up to 30 m high and 40 cm dbh; can withstand competition with grasses and weeds.

Leaves:
Lanceolate; 6-15 cm long and less than 2-3 cm wide; gradually narrowed at both ends.

Flowers:
White, fragrant, about 6 mm long; crowded in panicles 5-8 cm long

Fruit:
Profuse, somewhat rounded when fresh, fleshy but with thin pericarp, 6-8 mm in diameter; green when young and yellow orange when ripe; with about 6-18 brown to black flattened and resinous seeds with turpentine odor.

Bark:
Outer bark smooth and whitish brown

USES:
Wood:
In Cebu, wood largely used by exporters for the manufacture of novelty items and fashion accessories; ideal for pulp and papermaking.

Fruit:
Source of mamalis oil that can be used as biofuel.

Medicinal:
Aromatic decoction brewed from leaves used by women in their baths following childbirth; powdered bark employed as treatment for fever in small doses and considered a general antidote in larger doses; effective in treating bronchitis.

Forage:
Leaves used as animal feeds by upland farmers in many parts of Central Visayas.