Known also as “beauty leaf” or “beach mahogany,” daok is used as an ornamental tree. Many Pacific islanders use daok’s flower for traditional adornment like the Carolinian mwar.
Daok has much more to offer though.
Claus Bier, program coordinator of Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service, said it was discovered not too long ago that daok oil could be used in cosmetics and also as medicine for certain skin diseases.
Daok oil has anti-bacteria and anti-fungal properties, he added.
Bier believes that if the potentials of daok’s oil are explored further, the tree can be another source of livelihood for the people of the CNMI.
Some people on Rota, he said, are already making money out of daok oil, a vial of which is sold for $20.
The “Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry” published in 2006 said the oil extracted from daok seeds was used as an alternative to candlenut oil for the lamps of some Polynesians.
It may also be used for massage or hair oil, particularly when scented.
The oil is likewise used to finish wooden bowls as well as for cosmetic and topical applications for healing of burns and skin diseases.
The mature fruit when burned is a mosquito repellent, while the latex or a decoction of the bark was used to treat eye ailments in Polynesia and Southeast Asia.
Bier said the French, in the early 20th century, conducted clandestine research on daok oil.
It was only in the early 1950s when the knowledge regarding the potentials of daok oil became more well-known.
CNMI Forester Vic Deleon Guerrero said this potential was not immediately known to the locals when daok was first introduced in the NMI.
Here, daok was known for its beautiful reddish brown wood which was used mainly for construction, furniture, general cabinetry and boat building.
It was only later on when daok’s other valuable uses were discovered.
Deleon Guerrero said the Department of Lands and Natural Resources’ forestry division, in collaboration with the Division of Environmental Quality and the Coastal Resources Management Office, has included daok on the list of plant species that are being studied so the government can address problems in “bad land” areas.
Deleon Guerrero said over the past three years, daok trees were planted in areas impacted by runoffs. Because it grows in the sand, daok helps stabilize soil in coastal areas, thus protecting the coastlines.
Right now, Deleon Guerrero said CNMI Forestry has 300 daok seedlings in its nursery and these are available to the public.
