Antidesma bunius | |
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Leaves and flowers of bignay in the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum | |
Ripe bignay fruit in the Philippines | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Phyllanthaceae |
Genus: | Antidesma |
Species: | A. bunius |
Binomial name | |
Antidesma bunius | |
Antidesma bunius is a species of fruit tree in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and northern Australia. It is commonly known as bignay, [1] after its native name in the Philippines, where the fruits are commonly used for making bignay wine and jams. It is also known more ambiguously as Chinese laurel, Queensland cherry, salamander tree, wild cherry, and currant tree. [1]
It is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 metres (98 feet) in height. It has large oval-shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long and 7 cm (3 in) wide. They are attached to the twigs of the tree with short petioles, creating a dense canopy.
The species is dioecious, with male and female flowers growing on separate trees. The flowers have a strong, somewhat unpleasant scent. The staminate flowers are arranged in small bunches and the pistillate flowers grow on long racemes which will become the long strands of fruit. The fruits are spherical and just under 1 cm (1⁄2 in) wide, hanging singly or paired in long, heavy bunches. They are white when immature and gradually turn red, then black.
Each bunch of fruits ripens unevenly, so the fruits in a bunch are all different colors. The skin of the fruit has red juice, while the white pulp has colorless juice. The fruit contains a light-colored seed. The fruit has a sour taste similar to that of the cranberry when immature, and a tart but sweet taste when ripe.
There is an inverse correlation between the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide and bitterness in A. bunius. [2]
The native range of wild trees of Antidesma bunius extends from parts of South Asia (Sri Lanka and the lower Himalayan regions of India, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), to Southeast Asia (the Philippines, parts of Indonesia, and Mainland Southeast Asia), Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and northern Australia. It is absent in Peninsular Malaysia and rare in Borneo. It is cultivated in South Asia, southern China, Southeast Asia, Polynesia, Cuba, Honduras, and Florida. [3] It grows in rainforests and semi-evergreen tropical forests. [4]
The fruits are edible raw. [4] Bunches of ripe fruits are commonly sold in Indonesia from trees grown in rural villages. In the Philippines, its fruits are made into bignay wine, jams (alone or in combination with other fruits), desserts, and drinks. Unripe sour fruits are also sometimes used as a substitute for tomatoes or vinegar in some dishes in Filipino cuisine. [5] The tender young leaves are sometimes eaten with rice in Indonesia and the Philippines, and the leaf shoots are used to make tea in China. [3]
Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The edible fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides. When cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, giving it the name of star fruit. The entire fruit is edible, usually raw, and may be cooked or made into relishes, preserves, garnish, and juices. It is commonly consumed in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, parts of East Asia, the United States, parts of Latin America, and the Caribbean. The tree is cultivated throughout tropical areas of the world.
Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
The jackfruit is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as 55 kg in weight, 90 cm in length, and 50 cm in diameter. A mature jackfruit tree produces some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. The jackfruit is a multiple fruit composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals of the unripe fruit are eaten.
Syzygium samarangense is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to an area that includes the Greater Sunda Islands, Malay Peninsula, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but introduced in prehistoric times to a wider area and now widely cultivated in the tropics. Common names in English include wax apple, Java apple, Semarang rose-apple, and wax jambu.
Artocarpus integer, commonly known as chempedak or cempedak, is a species of tree in the family Moraceae, in the same genus as breadfruit and jackfruit. It is native to Southeast Asia. Cempedak is an important crop in Malaysia and is also popularly cultivated in southern Thailand and parts of Indonesia, and has the potential to be utilized in other areas. It is currently limited in range to Southeast Asia, with some trees in Australia and Hawaii.
Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southeast Asia.
Averrhoa bilimbi is a fruit-bearing tree of the genus Averrhoa, family Oxalidaceae. It is believed to be originally native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia but has naturalized and is common throughout Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in parts of tropical South Asia and the Americas. It bears edible but extremely sour fruits. It is a close relative of the carambola tree.
Averrhoa carambola is a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae native to tropical Southeast Asia; it has a number of common names, including carambola, star fruit and five-corner. It is a small tree or shrub that grows 5 to 12 m tall, with rose to red-purple flowers. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The flowers are often produced year round under tropical conditions. The tree is cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions for its edible fruits.
Syzygium cumini, commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Andaman Islands. It can reach heights of up to 30 metres (98 ft) and can live more than 100 years. A rapidly growing plant, it is considered an invasive species in many world regions.
Lansium domesticum, commonly known as langsat or lanzones (,--) is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species is native to Southeast Asia, from peninsular Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines.
Mangifera caesia is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. Known in English as jack or white mango, among other names. It belongs to the same genus as the mango and is widely cultivated in areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Sandoricum koetjape, the santol, sentul or cotton fruit, is a tropical fruit native to maritime Southeast Asia (Malesia).
Mangifera pajang, commonly known as wild mango, is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is endemic to Borneo, where it is known by the various native names: buahbambangan, buah mawang and buah embang.
Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, lontar palm, wine palm, or ice apple, is a fan palm native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is reportedly naturalized in Socotra.
Garcinia atroviridis, known as asam gelugur, asam gelugo, or asam keping is a large rainforest tree native to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. This species grows wild throughout Peninsular Malaysia but is also widely cultivated, especially in the northern states, owing to its economic and medicinal value. Garcinia atroviridis is a large perennial plant commonly found in evergreen forests in the southern region of Thailand and Malaysia.
Flacourtia inermis, known commonly as lovi-lovi, or batoko plum, is a species of flowering plant native to the Philippines and Indonesia, but which has naturalized around the edges of tropical Asia and Africa. Common names in Indonesia include Tome-Tome, Lovi-lovi, and lobi-lobi.
Antidesma acidum is a shrub or small tree that is native to an area from Jawa to south-central China and Pakistan. It is a long-lived, shade-tolerant species that is usually found under closed-canopy. The fruit is eaten in many places, the leaves in some locations. In Luang Prabang (Laos) open-air markets, the leaves are only sold alongside Russula mushrooms, to give a sour flavour to soup made from the fungi.
Syzygium alternifolium is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to North Arcot, Cuddapah, Kurnool, and the Nagari hills, in eastern Chittoor district, India. It has alternate leaves.
Syzygium curranii, commonly known as lipote, is a species of tree endemic to the Philippines. It bears sweet to sour black or red berries that can be eaten fresh, but are more commonly turned into jams or wine. The tree grows to a height of around 15 m (49 ft). The leaves are oblong in shape and are around 20 to 25 cm long and 6 to 8 cm wide. The tree is also harvested for its timber which is used for construction. It is not commercially cultivated and the fruit is harvested from the wild. It is threatened with habitat loss.
Syzygium polycephaloides, commonly known as lipote, is a species of tree native to the Philippines, southeastern Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It bears edible red to purple berries that can be eaten fresh but are usually turned into jams or wine in the Philippines. The tree grows to a height of around 15 m (49 ft). The leaves are oblong in shape and are around 50 cm (20 in) long and 15 cm (5.9 in) wide. It bears fruit between May and June.
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