Yellow menteng tree
Baccaurea racemosa

Family: Phyllanthaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 15-25 m tall. The trunk can be 25-70 cm across. The crown is irregular shaped and dense. The leaves are oval and 7-18 cm long by 3-7 cm wide. The leaves have glands. The leaf stalk is 0.5-4.5 cm long. The leafy growths at the base of the leaves (stipules) are triangle shaped. The flowering stalks are on the old branches or on the trunks. The male and female flowers are separate. The male flowering stalks are 5-13 cm long. The flowers are in clusters of 3. The female flowering stalks are 10-20 cm long. The fruit are white and about 3.5 cm across. When ripe they turn scarlet. They are covered with fine silvery hairs.

There are about 80 Baccaurea species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest and in fresh water swamps. It grows up to 1,100 m above sea level. In Cairns BG.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Brunei, India, Indochina, Indonesia (country/location of origin), Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw. They can be sweet or acidic. Caution: There are reports of vomiting from eating large amounts of fruit.

It is a cultivated fruit tree.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants can be grown by seeds, air-layering and grafting

Its other names

Local names

Bencoy, Engkuni, Jintah merah, Jintek merah, Jintek-jintek, Kapunduang, Kapundung, Kau masam, Kepundung, Kononau, Kunau, Longkumo, Lulai paya, Mentali, Menteng, Moho liox, Motok hei, Pohon menteng emas, Rambai ayam, Setambun, Steambun betina, Tuku-takal, Tunding undang, Umbarian

Synonyms

Baccaurea bhaswatii Chakrab. & M. Gangop.; Baccaurea wallichii Hook.f.; Coccomelia racemosa Reinw. ex Bl.; Pierardia racemosa (Reinw.) Blume; Pierardia racemosa (Rienw.) Miq.;