Catkin blooming, Yellow plum
Opilia amentacea

Family: Opiliaceae

What it is like

A shrub or woody climber. It grows off other trees and plants. It grows to 4-10 m tall and has stems 20 cm across. The bark is rough and light grey. It has furrows along it and is corky. The aerial branches often hang downwards. The leaves are fairly smooth and leathery. They are 5-14 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The midrib is prominent underneath the leaf. The leaf has a pointed tip. The leaf stalk is 0.3-0.7 cm long. The new leaves are bright shiny green. The base of the leaves is slightly curved backwards. The flowers are very small and yellow green. They are star shaped. They have a sweet scent. Many flowers occur together on short stalks around a central stem. These occur in the axils of leaves and are 2-3.5 cm long. The fruit can occur singly or in clusters. The fruit are oval and fleshy. The flesh is white. They are 1.5-3 cm long by 1.2-1.8 cm wide. They are pale yellow or orange when ripe. The fruit are edible. They have one seed inside. The seed is 21 mm long by 15 mm wide.

There are 2 Opilia species. They are tropical.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical Asia. They occur near the beach in monsoon areas. They are often on sandy soil. They need fresh water so are often near streams. In China it grows in forests and on mountain slopes between 500-800 m altitude in Yunnan in S China. It can grow in arid places. It occurs in the Western Ghats in India.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, East Timor, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten fresh. CAUTION. The fruit eaten in large quantities can irritate the lips and tongue. Leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

The fruit is enjoyed.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves

How it is grown

It can be grown from fresh seed. The seed need to be placed on the ground surface, not buried.

In Australia flowering is August to October and fruiting October to January. It fruits in the wet season. In Tanzania leaves are collected from April to November. In southern China from April to June.

Its other names

Local names

Engirusha, Itawa-tawa, Kalemela, Kaguha, Korogouein, Lpuken, Lukokonza, Luvisu, Mirliny, Mlende, Mtulu, Musundu, Mwevumbulo, Nyamtulo, Shan you zi, Silanincom-o

Synonyms

Opilia celtidifolia (Guill. & Perr.) Endl. ex Walp.; Opilia tomentella (Oliv.) Engl.; and others