Baccaurea ramilfora Lour

 

 

 

Botanical Name : Baccaurea ramiflora Lour
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Genus: Baccaurea
Species: B. ramiflora
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Synonym : Baccaurea cauliflora Lour

Description:
Small evergreen tree of more than 10 m. high, branches sympodially developed.  Leaves simple, alternate and spiral. Petiole swollen at base and top. Flowers unisexual cauliflorous. Fruit fleshy, orange to purple.

Fruits : The fruit is a berry of 2.5 – 3.5 cm. in diameter, ovoid or ellipsoid, hanging along old branches and main trunk, pale orange ripening reddish to purplish.
Seeds :  2-4 large seeds surrounded by a juicy translucent or pinkish pulp.

They are the oblate fruits hanging in big trees; from the bottom of the branches to the top of the trees. They are so large in number that they even bend the branches. Some are green, some are yellow and some are red, they look like balls engraved with jades or beads made of agates. The fruits have a succulent, sour and sweet taste.

Edible Uses:
1.The fruit is usually eaten fresh, poached or made into wine.
2.The seeds are edible as well.
3.Though it is most commonly cultivated in India and Malaysia, it is also found throughout Asia.
4.The trees are usually found at a low density.
5.The fruit is harvested and used locally.
6.This can be used in variety of colors as a tinned or a sweetened fruit topping.
7.Eating too many fruits makes your stomach get upset.
8.More often it is nurtured in home gardens and intercropped with fruits like durian, rambutan and mango.
9.The trees have a poor regeneration capacity.
10.The tree shows a good example for the fruits which grows directly from the main trunk.

Fruits can be kept fresh for 4–5 days, or boiled and mixed with salt after which it is keeps well closed jars. Marginal importance of the fruit, locally used and sold.

Source: Burmese Grape (Baccaurea ramiflora Lour)