What is "shorea"

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.

Many economically important timber trees belong to the genus, sold under names including "meranti", "lauan", "lawaan", "seraya", "balau", "bangkirai" and "Philippine mahogany".