Homalium brevidens is a shrub or tree species in the family Salicaceae, found in Laos and Cambodia.[1]
It grows 2-6m tall, with simple broad leaves, and is found in flooded forests in Cambodia.[2] [3] These forests, also known as swamp forests, is a community where the trees are usually 7-15(-20)m tall, that occurs along the shores of the lake Tonle Sap and nearby rivers, and is flooded to a maximum of 4-6m of water for up to 8 months per year. The 2 main species of tree in these forests are Barringtonia acutangula and Diospyros cambodiana, with H. brevidens one of the other common tree species.[4] On islands of the Mekong, in Steung Treng and Kratie provinces, north-central Cambodia, the tree occurs with medium abundance in the Riverine Strand vegetation zone (last to be flooded, first to be exposed).[5] Here it contributes to a closed canopy, growing above metamorphic sandstone bedrock at an elevation of 25-30m above sea level. On these islands it flowers from June to July, and fruits from September to October.
The plant is known as rotèang or stiëw in Khmer.[2] Wood from the shrub is used to make charcoal, its bark is used to caulk boats.