Commonly known as “Tinjau belukar” in the Malay community, Porterandia anisophylla is an evergreen tree from the family Rubiaceae. This species can usually grow up to 18 meters tall, with a diameter of 31 cm at breast height. The genus Porterandia is named after G. Porter who was the second Chief Controller of Penang Botanical Garden, serving from 1822 to 1834. Meanwhile, the species epithet anisophylla is derived from the Latin word anisophyllus, meaning with unequal leaves.
The native distribution of this species is Sumatra, Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo. This common understorey tree can be found growing from lowland to mountain evergreen forests of about 1,200 m altitude (Saw, 2019).
P. anisophylla is characterised by its simple, opposite, stalked leaves that are almost leathery in texture and broadly drop-shaped, about 12-35 cm long. The leaves are unequal, wherein an opposite pair, one leaf is larger than the other, thus the name anisophylla. The white and tubular-shaped flowers are 11-13 mm long, while its green fruits are globose and covered with short, velvety hair (Saw, 2019). The flowers of P. anisophylla are pollinated by insects, while the fruits can be eaten by mammals.
Although the species is not thought as special as it is very commonly found, the timber of this species has been reported to be used for fencing, beams, walking sticks, tools and other equipment. The timber has been tested and found to have good pulping properties (Wong, 1982). To date, the global conservation status of this species is Least Concern (Chong et al., 2024). P. anisophylla can be propagated by seeds and is suitable for planting in parks and streetscapes.
