Dialium patens

Baker

Fabaceae Edible: Fruit

gbif· cc0

Conveyor Belt

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Description

A tree. It grows 25 m tall. It has buttresses. The leaves are 10-20 cm long. There are 5-9 leaflets that are opposite. They are sword shaped and 6-9 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. The flower panicles are 15-22 cm long and 10 cm wide. The flowers are creamy white and have a scent. The fruit are pods that are oval and 15 mm long by 8 mm wide. They are slightly flattened.

Edible Uses

The oval pod-like fruits are eaten.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in low swampy areas and peat swamp forests.

Where It Grows

Asia, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore, Thailand,

Notes

There are about 40 Dialium species. They grow in tropical SE Asia. They probably all have edible fruit. Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Also Known As

Keranji beledu, Keranji burong, Keranji mawa, Sepau, Sepan

References (3)

Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 812
Chai, P. P. K. (Ed), et al, 2000, A checklist of Flora, Fauna, Food and Medicinal Plants. Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak. Forestry Malaysia & ITTO. p 168
Larsen, K., 1989, Dialium patens Bak. New to Thailand. Thai For. Bull. 18:82-83