Zi jing mu
Madhuca pasquieri

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 30-40 m tall. Trunk to 60-120 cm across, bark blackish. The small branches have lenticels and are rust coloured. The leaves can be scattered or clustered at the ends of branches. The fruit can be oval and 2-3 cm long by 1.5-2 cm wide. The fruit is rust coloured. The layer around the seeds is fleshy. The seeds are like an ellipse and 1.8-2.7 cm long by 1-1.2 cm across with an oblong scar.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. The occur in forests in southern China and Vietnam between 0-1100 m. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Indochina, SE Asia, Vietnam

How it is used for food

Seeds contain an edible oil.

It is an attractive oil.

Edible parts

Seeds - oil

How it is grown

Fruit bats drop the seeds of the fruit they have eaten and these seeds are collected and pressed into oil.

Its other names

Local names

Lau, Illipe de Tonkin, Sen dua, Sen mat

Synonyms

Bassia pasquieri Lecomte; Dasillipe pasquieri Dubard; Isonandra pasquieri (Dubard) Baehni; Madhuca subquincuncialis H. J. Lam & Kerpel; Madhuca tsangii H. L. Li;