Kariskis
Albizia lebbekoides

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It grows 7-8 m tall. It has drooping branches. The young branches are slightly hairy. The bark is hard and grey. The leaves are twice divided and have two rows of leaflets and the leaflets are narrow. There are 7-8 pairs of first leaflets then 10-23 pairs of small leaflets. These leaflets are oblong and 0.7-1.8 cm long by 2-4.2 mm wide. They are asymmetrical at the base. The flower cluster is towards the ends of branches. The flowers are small, greenish yellow and occur in clusters in compound flowers. They have a thin pod. The pod is 8-12 cm long by 1.6-2.2 cm wide. It is dark brown. They contain 7-10 seeds.

There are 145-150 Albizia species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics. The bark of this one is used as medicine. Also as Mimosaceae.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It is common and distributed from northern Luzon to southern Mindanao. It grows from sea level to 20 m altitude. It tends to grow in drier savannah locations.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Cambodia, East Timor, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, SE Asia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The bark is used in fermenting a drink known as "basi" in the Philippines.

It is not known if it is used for food in Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Bark

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Camtrang, Songrang

Synonyms

Acacia lebbeckoides DC; Mimosa carisquis Blanco; Pithecellobium myriophylum Gagnep.;