Hopea bilitonensis P.S. Ashton

Hopea bilitonensis is a small, smooth-barked, tree species with stilt roots. It belongs to the family Dipterocarpaceae and was named from the sandy islands in East Sumatra (Banka and Biliton) where it is common. In Malaysia, it has been recorded only on a limestone habitat in the relatively seasonal Northwest of Peninsular Malaysia. Small population size, coupled with confinement to a single location in Malaysia, makes this species rare and endangered in its Malaysian range. FRIM scientists are presently conducting genetic studies on this population to assess its conservation status.