Kwila

[BURTON John]

> I forwarded earlier notes on the derivation of KWILA to David 
> Frodin at Kew
> and here are his comments:
> 
> Thanks for passing on the messages about 'kwila' (Intsia bijuga and I.
> palembanica). There are actually two species but they are not easily
> distinguished and the timber is traded collectively.
> 
> The origin of the name in the Austronesian languages of New 
> Ireland is quite
> plausible, but I think Jabim (south of Finschhafen) and any 
> Austronesian
> languages around Madang are also worth attention. In New Ireland, Nusa
> Island and (opposite it) Kavieng were among the earliest German
> establishments, and these were soon in regular contact with 
> Blanche Bay.
> 
> I have access to Lane-Poole's book in Kew Library, so can 
> check this out.
> 
> Another paper that I think uses vernacular names is Warburg's 'Plantae
> papuanae' of 1891 (Bot. Jahrb. Syst.); this was based on his tour to
> Papuasia in 1889.
> 
> For overseas spread of the name, another work is the 
> Department of Forests'
> 'New Horizons' promotional booklet (1973) which advertised 
> key timbers and
> was produced in colour.
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> George Morren