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Description: The genus Cynometra includes about 86 to 107 species and belongs to Fabaceae, the Legume or Bean Family. Cynometra ramiflora is an indigenous tree that is small to medium-sized, branched and evergreen. It produces a rounded crown, grows to heights of 8-15 m (up to ~50 ft), and has a well-developed tap root system. C. ramifora has no aerial roots but sometimes develops buttresses. Its bark is grayish and its leaves are compound with leaflets 2.5-4 cm (1-1.5 in) long and 1-1.5 cm (~1/2 in) wide; new foliage is more or less pinkish to beige in color. C. ramiflora produces small, white flowers in relatively inconspicuous clusters, and its brown, indehiscent dry fruits are scaly, roundish, usually wrinkled, and variable in length and width from about 1.2-5 cm (0.5-2 in) by 1.3-4 cm (0.5-0.8 in).
Distribution: Cynometra ramiflora is native from Malaysia to the Western Pacific. It is found along streams and in swampy areas and at the landward edge of the mangrove, often near Heritiera littoralis and Barringtonia racemosa. It is also occasionally found inland in lower undisturbed forests up to 400 m (~1200 ft) above sea level. In Micronesia, C. ramiflora occurs in the high islands of Palau (e.g., Babeldaob, Ngerekebesang and the Oreor Islands), Yap, the Mariana Islands (e.g., Guam, Aguijan, Farallon de Medinilla, Rota, Saipan, Sarigan and Tinian), Pohnpei and Kosrae. However, the only reported species in the genus Cynometra from Chuuk is Cynometra yokotai, which is further discussed below under “Uses in Chuuk” (see the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History site for the Flora of Micronesia: http://botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/micronesia/index.htm).
General Uses: The dark-brown, heavy and hard timber of Cynometra ramiflora is used to make door-posts or other construction purposes. The leaves and oil extracted from the seeds are reportedly used to make lotions for treating skin diseases in some areas of Southeast Asia, and tree is occasionally cultivated along roadsides and gardens as an ornamental plant due to its attractive foliage, flowers and shade value (e.g., see Tan et al. 2010).
Uses by Micronesian Island or Island Group:
Uses in Palau: According to Tuyama (1941), Cynometra ramiflora “is suitable for cane manufacture and as fire-woods” in Palau. More recently, Kitalong et al. (2008) described the wood of this tree as “strong” and useful “for making handles for tools such as saws, sickles, hammers, axes and shovels” in Palau. Tan et al. (2010), on the other hand, referred to the heavy, hard, close-grained wood of this tree as “not very durable,” but useful for decorative veneers, inlaid work, as a source of firewood, and to make charcoal.
Uses in Mariana Islands: Cynometra ramiflora is known in Chamorro as Gulos or Gulus. This indigenous tree reportedly prefers limestone soils in the southern Mariana Islands. For example, on Saipan, where native limestone forest is limited to cliffs and less accessible areas not easily cultivated, the canopy of this native vegetation type is dominated by “Pisonia grandis and Cynometra ramiflora, and C. ramiflora and Guamia mariannae” are reportedly the most common species in the understory” (Sachtleben 2010; also see Craig 1996). According to Haws (2006:251), Fritz (1902) reported “gulos” (C. ramiflora)as a tree species found on the plateau of the small elevated Marianas coral reef island of Farallon de Medinilla; Smith (2013:10) reported C. ramiflora as one of the dominant species in “limestone forest” areas of Tinian Island. According to Zarones 2014, C. ramiflora is generally a small to medium tree that only produces seed “in some years,” and is used in the Mariana Islands as an ornamental plant. From a natural resource conservation management point of view, C. ramiflora produces nest sites for birds (Zarones 2014), and is among those native “broad-leaved tree species that serve as host species for rare native partulids (Partula species of terrestrial snails) in the Mariana Islands (Smith 2013:2).
Uses in Pohnpei: Cynometra ramiflora is found along streams and in swampy areas (nanpwoaki) on Pohnpei; it is also found commonly at the landward edge of the mangrove on this island, often near other trees adapted to this wetland environment, e.g., Heritiera littoralis (Mworopw en Sed) and Barringtonia racemosa(Wihnmar). C. ramiflora is also occasionally found inland in undisturbed forests, e.g., “from 1000-2000 feet in elevation” on Pohnpei (Haws 2006:98). C. ramiflora is known by more than one name on Pohnpei, including Remek, Kamau, Kemeu, Kumoh, and Koamoau. The name Koamoau is derived from two words. Koah refers here to tree (as in Koahu, mast for the sail or to stand tall); and Moakwo means to be greedy and refers here mainly to stacking supplies. This Pohnpeian name for C. ramiflora thus refers to the great ability of the tree to hold the soil and prevent erosion. The following comments in Pohnpeian language refer to this soil holding ability of Koamoau: “Ahd wet a asasang ni wehwehn lepin mahsen rielep. Koah iei me kasalehda wehwehn tuhke. Moahwo iei me kasalehda en tuhke pwoatet a koahiek en adiada oh kolpene pwehl. Tuhke pwoalet pil kin wia wini.” In Pohnpei, C. ramiflora is reportedly a source of medicine.
Uses in Chuuk: Cynometra ramiflora is reportedly not found in Chuuk, but Cynometra yokotai Kaneh. has been listed as an endemic tree in Chuuk (e.g., see Costion and Lorence 2012, Fosberg 1984, and Fosberg et al. 1979). However, elsewhere in the literature, Cynometra yokotai is listed as a synonym of Maniltoa yokotai (Kaneh.) Hosok. Here we discuss this tree and its uses in Chuuk under Cynometra yokotai Kaneh. C. yokotai, known in Chuuk asÉémé or Áápwo, is an endemic tree found only in the cooler mountainous upland forests of Chuuk. In these forests, C. yokotai is found as one of the dominant woody species in small, relatively inaccessible stands located on mountaintops and rocky ridges of higher volcanic islands within Chuuk lagoon, such as on Tol Island (maximum elevation about 500 m (~1,500 ft), where it is said to draw rain from the clouds (occasional fog drip).
“In Chuuk, broadleaf forest occurs mainly as small, relatively inaccessible stands located on mountaintops and rocky ridges. Dominant species include Clinostigma caroliniensis, Ficus prolixa var. caroliniensis, Parinari laurina, Garcinia ponapensis var. trukensis, Cynometra yokotai, Dysoxylum abo, Pentaphalangium carolinense, Schefflera krameri, Flacourtia rukam var. micronesica, Randia carolinensis and other species” (Haws 2006:98, bold added for emphasis).
On Chuuk, the very hard wood of this tree is sometimes used in house construction, and its large, plate-like roots (buttresses) are cut to make breadfruit-pounding boards, known as nnúf in Chuukese (see Merlin and Juvik 1996).