''Merrillia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae, containing the single species ''Merrillia caloxylon''. Its English language common names include flowering merrillia, katinga, and Malay lemon. In Malaysia it is called ''ketenggah'' and ''kemuning gajah''.Lim, T. K. (2012)
''Merrillia caloxylon''.
In: ''Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants''. Springer Netherlands. 890-92. The species is native to Malaysia, Thailand, and

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

in Indonesia. This species is a member of the Rutaceae

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Aurantioideae, which includes the genus '' Citrus''. It has been placed as the only genus and species in the subtribe Merrilliinae, which are known technically as the large-fruited remote citroid fruit trees.Citrus Variety Collection.
University of California, Riverside. The genus is sunk into '' Murraya'' by some sources, but accepted in a 2021 classification of the Rutaceae.

Description

This species is a tree often reaching up to 20 meters tall, sometimes approaching 30 meters. One report from 1932 mentions a specimen collected from a tree 33.6 meters tall. If the report is valid it would be the largest tree of the Aurantioideae. The trunk has a light, flaking

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

. The leaves can exceed 20 centimeters in length,Citrus Variety Collection: ''Merrillia caloxylon''.
University of California, Riverside. and each is made up of 5 to 13 leaflets up to about 10 centimeters long, the basal ones smaller than the others. They are thin, bright green, and somewhat lance-shaped with triangular bases. The flowers are solitary, paired, or borne in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s. They are white to yellow-green and trumpet-shaped with petals up to 1.8 centimeters long. The oblong fruit is up to 11 centimeters long by 7.5 wide. It has a warty

peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel Island, Queensland *Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated communi ...

over a centimeter thick. It is green, turning yellow with maturity. The fruit contains a tasteless, fibrous, olive-green pulp. The native habitat of the tree includes primary and secondary tropical forest.

Uses

The species has been noted for its wood, which is bright yellow with dark brown streaks. It is a hard wood used historically in Malaysia to make walking sticks and

kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

handles. It was also good for making

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

and boxes. The species was too rare to provide a supply of commercial timber. Several coumarins have been isolated from the roots, including one named merrillin.Bin Zakaria, M., et al. (1989)
Coumarins of ''Merrillia caloxylon''.
''Phytochemistry'' 28(2), 657-59. The alkaloid

yuehchukene Yuehchukene is a dimeric indole alkaloid natural product that possesses anti-fertility and estrogenic activities. Yuehchukene is isolated from the roots of ''Murraya paniculata'' and other species of the plant genus '' Murraya''. Its natural abun ...

has been found in the bark; it is a compound well known from the related genus '' Murraya''.Kong, Y., et al. (1988)
The biochemical systematics of ''Merrillia''; in relation to ''Murraya'', the Clauseneae and the Aurantioideae.
''Biochemical Systematics and Ecology'' 16(1), 47-50.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1592166, from2=Q1335033 Aurantioideae Aurantioideae genera Trees of Thailand Trees of Sumatra Trees of Peninsular Malaysia Monotypic Rutaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot