All plant species
12 species
ENBurmese padauk
Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz
Fabaceae family
Burmese padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus) is a prized red-wood tree of Southeast Asia's deciduous forests, yielding fragrant, beautifully figured timber for fine furniture and craftwork.
ENBurmese rosewood
Dalbergia oliveri Gamble ex Prain
Fabaceae family
Red sandalwood belongs to the Dalbergia genus, prized for its reddish-brown grain, high durability and faint fragrance, used in fine furniture and instruments.
CRCochinchina rosewood
Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre ex Laness.
Fabaceae family
Cochinchina rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) is a highly prized rosewood with dense, dark-red, fine-grained timber; illegal harvesting has driven it to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
NECotton
Gossypium hirsutum L.
Malvaceae family
Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a crop of the family Malvaceae and the source of the world’s single most important textile fibre. Native to Mexico and Central America and domesticated long ago, it is now the most widely grown cotton species, accounting for most global production. The fibre is almost pure cellulose; the seeds yield edible oil after refining but contain gossypol, a toxic compound once studied as a male contraceptive.
VUFujian cypress
Fokienia hodginsii (Dunn) A.Henry & H.H.Thomas
Cupressaceae family
Fokienia hodginsii (Fujian cypress) is a prized cupressaceous conifer with light, fine-grained, aromatic, durable and termite-resistant wood, growing in humid montane closed evergreen forest in South-East Asia and southern China. It is an evergreen tree 20–30 m tall with a trunk that can exceed 1 m across and a conical crown; the scale-like leaves are aromatic when crushed. It is the sole species of its genus and a living relic of the Tertiary, ranging from China through Vietnam and Laos to Thailand and Myanmar. Over-exploitation of its timber led IUCN to list it as Vulnerable (VU).
NEJute
Corchorus olitorius L.
Malvaceae family
Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.), also called Tossa jute, is an annual herb of the family Malvaceae and the source of a bast fibre that ranks second only to cotton in natural-fibre production. Native to tropical Africa and/or South Asia (still debated), it was domesticated for fibre mainly in India and Bangladesh. Jute is strong, cheap and biodegradable and is used for sacking, burlap, carpet backing, ropes, pulp and eco-friendly materials; the young leaves (jute mallow, molokhia) are edible, while the seeds contain cardiac glycosides (corchorin) and are not eaten.
ENLim
Erythrophleum fordii Oliv.
Fabaceae family
Lim (Erythrophleum fordii) is a valuable timber tree of southern China and Vietnamese tropical forests, yielding hard, durable, close-grained wood for pillars, bridges and boat building.
VUMerkus pine
Pinus merkusii Jungh. & de Vriese
Pinaceae family
Pinus merkusii (Merkus pine), also called Sumatran or Tenasserim pine, is a two-needled pine ranging from Myanmar and Thailand through Laos and Vietnam to Sumatra (Indonesia) — the only pine whose natural populations lie entirely south of the equator. It grows 20–40 m tall, has fire-resistant thick bark and forms open forests on poor soils. It yields resin rich in α-pinene and β-pinene, distilled into turpentine and rosin for paints, adhesives and paper, and its wood is used for poles, boards and pulp. IUCN lists it as Vulnerable (VU).
NERamie
Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich.
Nettle family
Ramie (Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich.), also called China grass, is a perennial herb of the family Urticaceae and the source of one of the oldest natural fibres. Native to East and South-East Asia, it was domesticated for fibre more than 6,000 years ago in China. The fibre is a bast fibre taken from the stem bark and is mainly cellulose; it stands out for high strength, natural lustre, low elongation and resistance to fungi and rot, and is therefore woven into premium fabric, load-bearing cordage, geotextiles and technical papers.
NERubber tree
Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A.Juss.) Müll.Arg.
Euphorbiaceae family
The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a large deciduous tree of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native to the Amazon basin (S. Tropical America per Kew POWO: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Peru, Venezuela). Its bark holds latex vessels yielding a white emulsion of about 60% water and 33–35% cis-1,4-polyisoprene — natural rubber, one of the most important elastic polymers. After vulcanisation was invented (1839), rubber was carried from the Amazon to Asia, and Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China and West Africa are now the main producers. The latex contains allergenic proteins (Hev b 1–15); the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern (LC, 2020).
VUTakian
Hopea odorata Roxb.
Dipterocarpaceae family
Takian (Hopea odorata) is a large dipterocarp of Southeast Asian tropical forests, yielding hard, durable timber for boats, bridges and flooring, as well as dammar resin.
VUWinged dipterocarp
Dipterocarpus alatus Roxb. ex G.Don
Dipterocarpaceae family
Winged dipterocarp (Dipterocarpus alatus) is a tall tree of the Mekong Delta's seasonal forests, yielding durable construction timber and oleoresin ('hard oil') used for varnish and caulking boats.