Diospyros foliosa
(Forster) Green
'anume
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Description
A medium sized tree. It grows 10 m high. The young stems can be slightly hairy. The bark is dark. The leaves are simple and alternate. The blade can be oval or sword shaped and 3-11 cm long. The leaves are darker on the upper side. The leaf stalk is 2-11 mm long. The flower cluster has 6-25 flowers. The flowers are 5-15 mm long. The flowers are of one sex and both sexes occur on the one tree. The fruit is red or yellow and has 1-4 seeds. The fruit are 1.3-2.5 cm long.
Edible Uses
The fruit and seeds are eaten.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in coastal forests in Samoa from sea level to 150 m altitude.
Where It Grows
Australia, Fiji, Niue, Pacific, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis, Wallis & Futuna,
Notes
There are about 485 species of Diospyros mostly in the tropics.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Ulalo
References (6)
- Edible and Useful Native Plants (off internet) (As Diospyros ellipticifolius)
- Kew Bull. 32:340. 1969 (As (J. R. Forst. & G. Forst.) P. S. Green)
- Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 236
- Smith, A.C., 1981, Flora Vitiensis Nova: A New flora of Fiji, Hawai Botanical Gardens, USA Vol 2 p 732 (As Diospyros elliptica var. elliptica)
- Walter, A. & Sam C., 2002, Fruits of Oceania. ACIAR Monograph No. 85. Canberra. p 154, 279 (As Diospyros elliptica var. elliptica)
Show all 6 references Hide references
- Whistler, W.A., 2004, Rainforest Trees of Samoa. Isle Botanica Honolulu, Hawaii. p 48 (As Diospyros elliptica var. elliptica)
