Antidesma bunius

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Antidesma bunius
Leaves and flowers of bignay in the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum
Ripe bignay fruit in the Philippines
Scientific classification Edit this 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

jams. It is also known more ambiguously as Chinese laurel, Queensland cherry, salamander tree, wild cherry, and currant tree.[1]

Description

Bignay wine from the Philippines

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

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]

Distribution and habitat

The native range of wild trees of Antidesma bunius extends from parts of

semi-evergreen tropical forests.[4]

Uses

The fruits are edible raw.

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]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Antidesma bunius". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. PMID 834304
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9789400740532
    .
  4. ^
    OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  5. ^ De Leon y German, José (1916). "Forms of Some Philippine Fruits". The Philippine Agriculturist and Forester. 5 (8): 251–280.

External links


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