Polyalthia flagellaris (Becc.) Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. (1939)

(Latin for 'belt shaped')

Synonyms
Desmos flagellaris (Becc.) Merr.
Unona flagellaris Becc.

Description
Understorey shrub/tree up to 10 m tall and 8 cm dbh. Stipules absent. Leaves alternate, simple, penni-veined. Flowers with ca. 30 mm long petals, pink-reddish, stinking, cauliflorous near the roots, placed on root-like outgrows. Fruitlets ca. 16 mm long, bright red to purple, placed in apocarp, fruitlets 1-2-seeded.

Ecology
Undisturbed lowland forests up to 580 m altitude. Often on alluvial sites, but also on hillsides and ridges, rarely on limestone. In secondary forests usually present as a pre-disturbance remnant.

Uses
Leaves used for treating irritated eyes.

Distribution
Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, West- and East-Kalimantan).

Local names
Borneo: Semukau.