Red gutta-percha
Palaquium gutta

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 45 m high. The trunk is 50 cm across. The bark is cracked. The twigs are 2-6 mm thick. They have reddish brown hairs. The leaves are scattered along the twigs or clustered at the tips. They are thickly papery. They are oval and 6-22 cm long by 2.5-6 cm wide. They can be larger. They have reddish-brown hairs underneath. The edges of the leaf is flat. The midrib is sunken above. There are 16-33 pairs of secondary veins. The flowers are whitish green or yellow. There are 2-10 per cluster. They are in the axils of leaves or on the leaf scars. The fruit are round or oval and 2-3.5 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. There are 1-2 seeds. The fruit are edible

Where it is found

A tropical plant. They occur in freshwater and dryland lowland forests. They can grow up to 1,600 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Brunei, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore, Vietnam

How it is used for food

It is a cultivated plant.

Edible parts

Seeds - oil, fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seeds.

Its other names

Local names

Getah merah, Oloi sambun, Pohon nyatoh getah merah, Rambu, Rapok palung, Sambun utip, Xaydao mu

Synonyms

Dichopsis gutta Benth. & Hook.f.; Icosandra gutta Hook.; Palaquium oblongifolium (Burck) Burck;