Scientific name: Memecylon edule
Family name: Melastomataceae
Nipis Kulit trees in Taman Tugu
Nipis Kulit tree is an indigenous rainforest tree amongst the 4,100 trees added to the Taman Tugu site, selected in collaboration with Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (“FRIM”) and Malaysian Nature Society (“MNS”).
It is a big shrub or small shrubby tree which is usually 3-7m tall, sometimes reaching 12m height. The trunk can be single or multiple with greyish-brown bark that is finely ridged and papery-thin. Leaves are opposite and leave blade is sub-leathery with indistinct veins. Leaf petioles are very short and young leaves are glossy red. The flowers have calyxes pink petals which are topped by blue-stalked stamens. The flowers are small and very fragrant which are clustered into small panicle inflorescences arising directly from twigs at leaf axils. The fruits are small globular berries with persistent calyx at base. It is borne in small axillary bunches. The fruits ripened from green to yellow to black.
The wood is used for rafters, house posts, fuel wood, and charcoal. The ripe fruits are sometimes eaten; the pulp has an rather astringent quality. Yellow dye and mordant can be extracted from leaves, to be used for dyeing silk. The leaves are traditionally used to heal burns and wound without scarring.
These trees grow in lowland forests, coastal cliffs and sandy to rocky seashores. They are native to Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia.