Mundroi
Corynocarpus cribbianus

Family: Corynocarpaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree, up to 20 m high. The trunk can be straight or crooked. The bark is grey, with many long cracks along it. The twigs vary between angular and round, in cross section. The leaf stalk is 1-5 cm long and with a groove along it. The leaf is 9-26 cm long by 3-13 cm wide. (Leaves tend to be larger in the Solomon Islands than in Papua New Guinea or Australia.) The leaf is pointed at the tip, and rounded near the base. The 8-11 pairs of veins curve, and join near the leaf edge. The veins have a dent inwards on the top of the leaf surface, and are raised, underneath the leaf. The leaf is thin textured but firm. The flower cluster is branched and about 20 cm long. The individual flower stalks are about 2-4 mm long. The flowers have a scent, and are whitish or occasionally slightly pink or greenish. It produces clusters of fruit on the ends of the branches. The fruit are 10 -12 cm x 8-10 cm, and have one large seed inside. The fruit is green when young, and pink or cream when ripe. The fruit is shaped like a mango. This is an attractive tree, especially when fruiting. It is a good shade tree.

There are 4-6 Corynocarpus species. Mundroi Corynocarpus cribbianus What is Mundroi ? Mundroi is the name used on Manus Island for the fruit of a tree that scientists call Corynocarpus cribbianus. The first botanist to describe the tree was F.M.Bailey in Queensland in 1897, but the name was changed a couple of times until in 1956 Corynocarpus cribbianus was decided as the correct scientific name. There are only 4 species of trees in this group of plants called Corynocarpus. And the group is not closely similar to other plants so scientists are still trying to work out how it is related to other groups of plants. One of the other species, Corynocarpus laevigata, is called karaka in New Zealand, and the flesh of the fruit is eaten raw, and the kernel is soaked and steamed to remove poison, then eaten, by Maori people. The group of plants called Corynocarpus only occur in an area between New Zealand and New Guinea, including a little bit of Queensland in Northern Australia. What is a Mundroi like? The mundroi tree is quite a large tree up to 20 metres high. The fruit are produced in clusters at the ends of the branches and are shaped something like a mango. The fruit are smooth on the outside and green when ripe. There are two different kinds of fruit which vary on the colour of the ripe fruit. One kind turns a reddish pink when ripe while the other kind turns a creamy white. This second kind has the larger fruit. The fruit grows up to 10 or 12 cm long and 6-8 cm across. Inside there is one large seed, and the flesh around the seed is eaten. The fruit is only eaten when fully ripe and it is harvested after it has fallen from the tree. The fruit is eaten either raw or cooked. The flesh of the fruit is sweet but not juicy. The mundroi tree has leaves which are dark green on top and pale green underneath. They have veins which join in loops. The veins are raised on the underneath side of the leaf. Mundroi trees are normally planted. They are grown from seed. The similar karaka tree in New Zealand will grow from cuttings, so it would be worth trying this with mundroi. The botanist Van Steenis in his article on this family of plants shows a picture of a flowering plant like this. The flowers have a sweet smell and the petals are white with slightly red tips.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Trees occur in well drained rainforest, up to 1800 m altitude, in the tropics near the equator. They have been recorded up to 2750 m above sea level. They occur naturally in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. In the Solomon Islands trees have been recorded up to 600 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia (country/location of origin), Indonesia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea (country/location of origin), SE Asia, Solomon Islands

How it is used for food

The fruit are edible. They are sweet but not juicy. Fruit can be eaten raw or cooked.

This is a quite important fruit in Papua New Guinea on Manus and on islands near Madang.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Trees are grown from seed.

The tree flowers and fruits throughout the year. The fruit fall when ripe, and are then collected from the ground. (It is important to only use fruit which fall naturally)

Its other names

Local names

Ibo, Ibo kwao, Ibo bala, Moso, Nodombu, Nyia nwadabu, Pohon kayu pondok, Putsakuleo, Tebu, Tembu

Synonyms

Corynocarpus australasica C.T. White; Cyanocarpus cribbiana F.M. Bail.; Helicia cribbiana (F.M. Bail.) F.M. Bail.;