Shorea is a
genus of about 196
species of mainly
rainforest trees in the
family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir
John Shore, the Governor-General of the
British East India Company, 1793–1798. They are native to southeast
Asia, from Northern
India to
Malaysia,
Indonesia and the
Philippines. In west
Malesia and the Philippines this genus dominates the skyline of the
tropical forests. The tallest documented tropical
angiosperm is an 88.3-metre-tall
Shorea faguetiana in the
Tawau Hills National Park, in
Sabah on the island of
Borneo, and in that park at least five other species of the genus have been measured to be over 80 m tall:
S. argentifolia,
S. gibbosa,
S. johorensis,
S. smithiana and
S. superba. Borneo is also the hotspot of
Shorea diversity with 138 species, of which 91 are
endemic to the island.