Dialium platysepalum

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 45 m high. The trunk does not have branches for 21 m. The leaves are compound. They have 5-11 leaflets. These are oblong and 6-8 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. They are shiny and dark green. There are golden hairs underneath. Leaves are thinly leathery. The leaves end with an abrupt tip. The base is rounded or tapering. There are 10-12 pairs of secondary veins. The flowers are densely hairy. The fruit is an oval pod. It is 2-2.5 cm long. The wall is hard. It is covered with dense brown hairs. The seed is round but unequal. It is about 1.5 mm long.

There are about 40 Dialium species. They grow in tropical SE Asia. They probably all have edible fruit. Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lowland rainforest and freshwater swamps. It can be found up to 500 m altitude in Kalimantan. It can be on sandy or clay soils.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Brunei, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pacific, Philippines, Sarawak, SE Asia, Thailand

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw.

Fruit are sold in markets.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Keranji kuning besar, Keranji kuning kecil, Keranji tebal kecil, Kuranji hutan

Synonyms

Dialium ambiguum Prain; Dialium havilandii Ridley; Dialium kingii Prain; Dialium maingayi Baker; Dialium triste de Wit; Dialium wallichii Prain;