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| ## ifit {#ifit .Title-Header}                                         |
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| *Intsia bijuga* (Colebr.) O. Kuntze                                   |
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| Plant Symbol = INBI                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center and USDA NRCS
Pacific Basin

![](media/image2.png){width="2.7375in" height="3.6847222222222222in"}

**Alternate Names**

*Synonyms*: *Afzelia bijuga* *Albizia bijuga*, *Intsia retusa*,
*Macrolobium bijugum*, *Eperua decandra*

*Common names*: ifit, ifet ifil, ipil, Moluccan ironwood, Bornec teak,
merbau ipil, ife-lele, kwila, kayu besi, Vesi, Go Nuoc, bendora, lumpaw,
and marabow.

**Uses**

*Ethnobotanic*: The ifit tree plays an important role in Polynesian life
during cultural celebrations, woodcarving, canoe building, and home
construction.

*Commercial*: Ifit was an important forest pre-World War II species used
in churches, houses, and other large wooden structures. Ifit wood
flooring, beams, and windowsills were common in almost all of the homes
before the war. Other wood uses include: high class exterior windows,
solid panel doors, interior trim, framing, weatherboarding, furniture,
stairs, handrails, poles, turnery, carving, musical instruments,
building bridges, wharves, sluices and sheet piles.

*Wildlife:* The tree is good for bird nesting and grazing for feral deer
and pigs.

*Medical*: The leaves and bark are used medicinally and the seeds are
edible.

**Status**

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, noxious status, and
wetland indicator values.

**Description**

General: Family (Leguminoseae). Ifit is a medium to large, slow growing,
evergreen tree. At maturity, it ranges in height from 7 to 45 m tall,
but rarely exceeds 25 m in Guam. The trunk is usually 0.5 to 5m,
crooked, and often buttresses at the base. The buttresses are formed by
woody roots expanding vertically creating radial walls extending from
the sides of the trunk . The rooting system allows the tree to cover
large areas containing rocks and thin soil, reduce competition, and
increase its resistance to uprooting during cyclones.

The wood is strong and reddish brown with the heartwood yellow to orange
brown. It has a high resistance to attacks by termites. Aging bark is
red or bronze. The bark contains tannins, and a dye can be extracted
from both the wood and bark.

The crown in full sunlight is usually upright, however, under shady
conditions the crown will spread. The alternate compound leaves are 7-15
cm long, with 1-2 pairs of opposite, broadly elliptic to subrotund dark
green coriaceous leaflets, each about 8-12 cm long and 5-8 cm wide on
short petiolules, apex obtuse, and slightly symmetric sides.

Flowers grow in puberulent, terminal clusters of corymbose panicles,
6-10 cm long. Single petals are white, or slightly pinkish, with three
stamens. The filaments are about 2.5 cm long.

The fruit are long, thick, rigid, leathery, oblong or pear-shaped green
pods up to 30 cm long and 10 cm wide, which become dark brown at
maturity. Each pod can contain 2 to 8 seeds varying in size and shape
from round to slightly kidney shape.

*Distribution:* Ifit is native from the Indian Ocean eastward to
Polynesia. It is found throughout American Samoa, Australia, Burma,
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar (at low altitudes in the west),
Malaysia, Myanmar, Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Seychelles, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam. For current distribution,
please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web
site.

**Establishment**

*Adaptation:* Ifit grows best in areas receiving 2000 mm of rainfall
annually, but will tolerate long dry seasons. It prefers rocky
well-drained soils, strongly acidic to strongly alkaline. While
intolerant to saline soils, ifit will tolerate a wide range of soil
types including inundated inland sites.

Although, it is a lowland, tropical rain forest tree often in areas
bordering mangroves, swamps, rivers, or floodplains, ifit will grow
inland up to 600 m.

*Propagation by seed*: Ifit is easily propagated from seed or stem
cutting. Its seed coat is very hard and impermeable to water. A variety
of treatments are available to pretreat the seed prior to sowing,
allowing water to enter the internal seed tissue. One effective seed
pretreatment involves nicking the seed with a large nail clipper or
filing the outer seed coat, opposite the hilum (scar), then soaking for
12-24 hours to ensure the seeds swell with water. Sow pretreated seed in
a vertical orientation with the hilum down and at least 2.5cm deep.
Treated seeds should germinate in four-to-seven days while untreated
seeds could take two months or more because of the water repelling seed
coat.

*Seedling production*: Treated seeds should be sowed in trays or
individual planting containers. If directly sowed in trays, seeds should
be sown in a moist potting medium with hilum positioned downward. There
should be 5cm between seeds and 15 cm between rows. Care should be taken
to lightly tamp the seed to ensure all sides are lightly covered with
the potting medium. Ifit seed will germinate in 7-9 days after sowing.
After germination, prick out the seedling after seed leaves have dropped
off to avoid stunting. Young seedlings should be held for 10-18 months
before outplanting

Containerized seedlings produced for large-scale reforestation should be
started by sowing one treated seed into a ridge one-gallon root-trainer
container. Seedling production in root-trainer pots and grow bags allows
adequate root growth in a confined space, increases root to shoot ratio,
and reduces wind throw and shock during extraction and replanting. The
potting medium can be screened "top soil" with rocks, large organic
matter, and hard soil clods removed. Top soil potting medium must be
amended with the proper proportion of composted organic matter and sand.
Irrigation must be used if seedlings are planted during the dry season
or if the potting medium becomes dry. Seedlings are usually ready for
outplanting in the field in about 12 weeks. Seedling should be 25 to 16
cm

*Propagation by cuttings*: Propagation is primarily through bare root
seedling, although stump cutting has been used.

**Management**

*General*: Young ifit plantings must be protected from wind if they are
expected to produce merchantable stems within 80-100 years. Planting
around or near the beach should be avoided because of salt spray and the
plant's intolerance to saline conditions. Trees growing around homes,
public buildings, parks, and other common areas should be protected from
lawn mowers and other lawn equipment. Under natural conditions, ifit
appears to perform well because of its wide growing range and tolerance
of differing environmental conditions. Trees managed for high value
timber in both natural and planted areas must be thin to a level that
will support maximum production based on land use and soil type.

*Pest*: The most notable pest of ifit is the psyllid. They feed on the
young expanding leaves and stems during the period of stem extension and
on small developing flowers during panicle growth. This feeding can
result in defoliation and growth loss.

##### References {#references .Header-3}

*International Tropical Tree Organization. 1996. Annual review and
assessment of the world tropical timber situation.*
(<http://www.itto.or.jp/live/PageDisplayHandler?pageId=199>) \[online:
cited 6 April 2001\]. Yokohama.

Marler, T.E. & J.H. Lawrence. 1994. *Ifit: Intsia bijuga- the
territorial tree of Guam.* Gaum Department of Agricultural, Forestry and
Soil Resource Division, USDA Forest Service and the Department of
Defense.

National Academy of Sciences. 1979. *Tropical legumes: resources for the
future*. National Academy of Sciences, Washington.

Ng, P.K.L. & Y.C. Wee (eds.). 1994. *The Singapore Red Data Book*. The
Nature Society, Singapore.

Papua New Guinea Department of Forests. 1989. *Facts and figures 1989*.
Boroko NCD: Papua New Guinea Department of Forests.

Soerianegara*s*, I. and R. H. M. J. Lemmens, 1993. *Plant* *resources of
southeast Asia.* No. 5(1). *Timber trees: major commercial timbers.*
Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen.

USDA-NRCS. 2006. *The PLANTS Database*.
([http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)) \[online: cited 03
April 2006\]. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge.

**Prepared By**

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

*Kellie King*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

*John Lawrence*

USDA NRCS Pacific Basin Area Office

Mongmong, Guam

**Species Coordinator**

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

##### Edited: 06apr00lmm; 20jul05 rln; 4Aug2005 rln; 3mar06 jsp {#edited-06apr00lmm-20jul05-rln-4aug2005-rln-3mar06-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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