Palaquium stellatum

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 60 m high. The trunk is 250 cm across. There are buttresses 3.3 m high. The bark is cracked, scaly and peeling. The twigs are 2.5-6.5 mm thick and with red hairs. The leaves are loosely clustered at the tips of the twigs. They are papery or thinly leathery and oblong. They are 7-20 cm long 2.5-7 cm wide. They taper to the tip. There are 8-12 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf stalk is 15-36 mm long by 1-2 mm wide. They are flat and shallowly grooved above. The flowers are white. There are 3-6 flowers per cluster and they are near the ends of branches. The fruit are oval and 2-2.5 cm long. They have 1-3 seeds. The fruit are edible.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lowland and hill forest up to 300 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten. The seeds yield a fat used as vegetable butter.

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds - oil

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Belian, Betis, Malong, Nyatok putat bukit, Putat bukit

Synonyms

Bassia watsoni Ridl.;