Antidesma acidum

Antidesma acidum is a shrub or small tree that is native to an area from Java to Southwestern China and Pakistan. It is a long-lived, shade-tolerant species that is usually found under closed-canopy. The fruit is eaten in many places, the leaves in some locations. In Luang Prabang (Laos) open-air markets, the leaves are only sold alongside Russula mushrooms, to give a sour flavour to soup made from the fungi.

Description

A shrub 2-3 m tall. It can be a tree 13 m high. The branches are round with fine hairs but become smooth and grey. The leaves are alternate. They are broadly oval and 3.5-9 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. The leaf stalk is hairy and 2-5 mm long. The flower arrangement is like a spike. It can be at the end of branches or in the axils of upper leaves. It is hairy and 3-10 cm long. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. Flowers are about 1.5 mm wide. The fruit is fleshy with a stone inside. It is flattened and hairy. It is 4 mm long. It turns blue when ripe. The stone has a netlike surface. It is 3.5 mm across.

Edible Uses

Ripe acidic fruits are eaten fresh or pickled, especially by children and sold in local markets. Young leaves are used in curries as a sour flavoring substitute for tamarind, and can be preserved for pickles, though fresh leaves store only 3-4 days.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten fresh or pickled. They are acidic. The young leaves are used in curries to give them a sour taste. They are a substitute for tamarind. The leaves can be preserved for later use. They are used for pickles. The fresh harvested leaves can only be stored for 3-4 days.

Medicinal Uses

The people who live in the Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaiyaphum Province, northeast Thailand, in their folkloric medicine to treat fever, drink a water decoction of the root of this species. Further north, in the Bueng Khong Long Non-hunting Area, Bueng Kan Province, northeastern Thailand, people harvest and eat the ripe wild fruits from March to September. In Cambodia, the fleshy fruit is eaten, and in local medicine an infusion of the root is given to young mothers as a tonic. The Bunong people of Mondulkiri Province, northeastern Cambodia, collect the wild fruits daily for food, and occasionally use the plant in their ethnomedicine to treat cough. When establishing Wurfbainia villosa, "medical cardamom", plantations in Phongsaly Province, northern Laos, in an area where shifting cultivation is dominant, farmers avoid new fallow areas that have sun-loving fast-growing plants, as these affect the cardamom plants. In fallow that is over five years old these short-lived species are replaced by long-lived species such as A. acidum, Alstonia scholaris and Albizia chinensis, which provide shade for the cardamom. At the open air markets of Luang Prabang, north Laos, the leaves of this species are only sold alongside Russula mushrooms. They are regarded as a special herb to provide a sour element in the traditional soup made from the mushroom. The Russula mushrooms are usually sold as a mixture of species, including Russula alboareolata, Russula delica, Russula faustiana, Russula integra, Russula paludosa, Russula subfoetens, Russula virescens, and other species. The fruit are also sold, both sour (unripe) and sweet (ripe). A variety of trees grow in rice fields in Champasak Province, southern Laos. Fruit trees, including this species, are common in fields. This species provides fruit and medicine. The Boro of Assam relish the mild sour leaves of this plant and combine it with fish or meat to make curries. Amongst people who are known by the external designation of Loi in the Thoubal district of Manipur, northeast India, the plant is used in their traditional ethnomedicine to treat diabetes. In the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, northeast India, the ripe fruit of the wild plant are eaten by children. The young tender leaves of the plant are gathered by "Tribal" and other rural people of Odisha, south India, to be eaten as vegetables, as are a large range of other wild plants. They are fried if oil is available, otherwise boiled with salt, and then served as a side-item with rice. The ripe fruit are eaten by the Tharu people living in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, northwest India (on the Nepal border). The plant is cited as an agricultural species in Nepal.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in secondary forest. In Nepal it grows from 150-1300 m altitude. In Yunnan in China it grows between 200-1500 m above sea level. It grows in secondary forest. In Sichuan.

Where It Grows

Andamans, Asia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sikkim, Thailand, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.

Production

In NE Thailand fruit are available March to September.

Other Information

The fruit are especially eaten by children. They are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are about 100-170 Antidesma species. These were previously in the Euphorbiaceae.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aburok, Abutenga, Abutenga, Amali, Amari, Amli, Amrul, Amta, Amtu, Archal, Areepazham, Ariporian, Asarippuli, Chouding, Ching heiyen, Ching yensil, Ching yensin, Chutki, Dakhi, Dhakki, Dieng-japeu, Dieng-japen, Elna, Ghondurili, Guo hua, Huli soppu, Iheri, Ingchum, Ingsum, Ing-sum-arong, Jamula, Kali khatai, Kantjer, Karrihulipa, Katma, Khatua, Khotura, Kim-ma-lin, Kundui, Lapasaiko, Lapha saikho, Mak mao, Mao soi, Markmao, Marmuri, Matha arak, Mau, Migana kudi, Mutta, Nekhon tenga, Nekhon-tenga, Noolithali, Nunnunia, Pa che e si, Pellagumudu, Pulleru, Sabheli baji, Sannagooge, Saroti, Saru heloch, Sarwat, Sirupulli, Surpela, Thurte-an, Tramuech

References (68)

• Bajpai, O., et al, 2015, Tree species of the Himalayan Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, India: a checklist. Check List 11(4): 1718
• Bandyopadhyay, S. et al, 2009, Wild edible plants of Koch Bihar district, West Bengal. Natural Products Radiance 8(1) 64-72
• Baro, D., Baruah, S. and Borthukar, S. K. 2015, Documentation on wild vegetables of Baksa district, BTAD (Assam). Scholars Research Library. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2015, 7 (9):19-2
• Behera, K. K. et al, 2008, Wild Edible Plants of Mayurbhanj District, Orissa, India. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. Vol. 32 (Suppl,) pp 305-314
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 34 (As Antidesma diandrum)

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