Pemphis, Digging Stick Tree
Pemphis acidula
Family: Lythraceae
What it is like
A shrub or small tree. It can grow to 2-10 m high and spread 1.5-6 m wide. The trunk is gnarled and grey. Young growth has grey silky hairs. The bark is brown and flaky. The small branches are angular. The leaves are small, fleshy and oval. They are 1.3-2.5 cm long by 0.3-0.7 cm wide. They are opposite and grey-green. The flowers are small and white. They have 6 papery petals. The flower is almost enclosed in a reddish ring of the outer sepals. The fruit is a capsule 0.7 cm across. It is red.
There is only one (2) Pemphis species.
Where it is found
It is a tropical plant. It grows on coastal limestone rocks and on atolls. It is common on the inner margins of mangroves. It occurs on Pacific atolls.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Asia, Australia, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Caroline Islands, Chuuk, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, FSM, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Pacific, Palau, Rotuma, Ryukyu, Samoa, SE Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Yap
How it is used for food
The fruit are sometimes eaten in Kiribati. The leaves are acid and eaten raw.
Edible parts
Leaves, sap, fruit
How it is grown
Plants are grown from seed.
Its other names
Local names
Chantigi, Gagie, Giria, Kahengy, Keredhi, Kuredhi, Mentigi, Mintagu, Nigas, Ngis, Sentigi, Te ngea, Tien le, Truh-kees