TREE OF THE MONTH (PART 2) YAKAL Shorea astylosa Foxw.

Physical Characteristics

Yakal is a medium to large tree about 25 to 30 meters tall.

Its wood is hard and dark brownish-yellow.

Branchlets are rather slender, blackish, and slightly hairy.

Leaves are coriaceous, ovate to lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate or apex acuminate; the base is rounded to cuneate, glabrous above, and slightly hairy underneath. Its blade is 6.5-nine centimeters long and two-4.5 centimeters wide. The petiole is slender, 10-23 millimeters long, and dark.

Inflorescence are axilllary, paniculate, and up to about six centimeters long. The flowers of yakal are yellow, very short-stalked, and about 12 millimeters long. Petals narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate, more or less twisted in bud, rounded at apex, 18 millimeters long, and reticulate.

Locations

Yakal is commonly found in Luzon, particularly Quezon and Camarines; Samar; Negros; and Mindanao, particularly Zamboanga, Agusan, and Davao. It can also be found in primary forests at low altitudes.

Traditional use

Wood extractions are tumor-inhibiting.

Contemporary use

Yakal is used for high-grade construction, bridges and wharves, mine timber, and other installations requiring high strength and durability.

How to plant your yakal seedling

Clear the area where you want to plant your seedling with unwanted weeds and debris. Make sure that a one-meter radius is kept free from other vegetation. Dig a plant hole with dimensions of at least 20 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm. Plant the seedling at proper depth. Root collar should be at level with or a little below the ground surface with the seedling oriented upward. Fill the hole with top or garden soil and press soil firmly around the base of the seedling. In plantation-making, seedlings should maintain a two-meter distance between seedlings if planted in a row of a three-meter distance from one strip to the next strip.

How to take care of your yakal seedling

Remove grass and other unwanted vegetation and cultivate the soil around the base of the seedling (50 cm radius) once in every quarter for two to three years. Place mulch around the base of the seedling (maintaining the 50 cm radius and using cut grass, leaves, and other suitable materials as mulch base). Prune the branches at most 50 percent of the crown depth, preferably during dry season, and ensure that when pruning, you do not injure the bark. 

Remove infected or infested vegetation nearby to stop plant diseases from spreading and contaminating your seedling. Monitor regularly the growth of the seedling for presence of pests and diseases.

Data about native tree species are featured by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. For comments and suggestions, email [email protected].