Canarium pimela

Canarium pimela, also called Chinese black olive (Chinese: 乌榄), is a species of tree in the family Burseraceae. It is found in Indo-China; in Vietnam it is called trám đen or cà na. In Thai, it's called 'Nam Liab (หนำเลี้ยบ)'. The Catalogue of Life does not record any sub-species. Once boiled in salt water the fruit are edible, resembling the flavor of salted plums, and are used in Chinese cuisine as a seasoning.

Description

A large tree. It grows 8-15 m tall but can grow 30 m tall. The trunk is 1.5 m across. The trunk is straight and it branches high up. The bark is brown with black sap. The leaves are unequal. The leaflets are long and oval. They are 6-12 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They are shiny above and dark coloured underneath. There are 8-10 pairs of side veins. The leaf shape of seedlings varies. The leaves have 4-6 pairs of leaflets. The flower clusters are branched. The flowering stalks are 8-35 cm long with 1-4 fruit on long stalks. The flowers are white. The fruit are narrowly oval and fleshy. They are 3-4 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. There are 3 unequal cells. The fruit are dark reddish blue to black when ripe. They contain 1 or 2 seeds.

Edible Uses

The fruit are highly esteemed and eaten fresh, crystallised, or pickled with the stone removed. The seed contains an edible oil.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are edible. Fruit are eaten fresh or crystallised. They are sometimes pickled. The stone is removed. The seed contains an edible oil.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The fruits and leaves are used as a treatment against diarrhoea and rheumatism. The fruit is antidote. It is used as an antidote to intoxication by alcohol or from eating poisonous fish. It is also used in the treatment of sore throat. The powdered seed is said to dissolve fish bones that have been swallowed accidentally, and also to cure earache.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in dense forests. In Yunnan, China it grows between 600-1300 m altitude. They occur in northern Vietnam mostly below 500 m altitude. The tree needs plenty of light. It prefers a deep humid soil. It mostly grows on steep land.

Where It Grows

Asia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, SE Asia, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seeds.

Propagation

Seed - we have no specific information for this species but seeds of this genus generally have a hard seed coat and germinate erratically. Filing away some of the seed coat to allow moisture to enter more readily, without damaging the seed, will encourage a faster and more even germination.

Other Uses

A resin is obtained from the tree. It has no great value. The wood is used for sawing board, house building, and furniture.

Production

The tree is fast growing. Flowering occurs in April-May and fruiting in October-December.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. The fruit are highly esteemed.

Notes

There are 80-95 Canarium species.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Bai, Blaam, Bui, Cana, Ka-na, Kanna, Si mo a si, Tram-den, Ximo

References (28)

• Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 1977
• Ann. Bot. (Koenig & Sims) 1:361. 1805 (P. W. Leenhouts, Blumea 9:406, t. 25. 1959) an illegitimate, superfluous name (ICBN Art. 52) adopted as a nom. nov. by Leenhouts but this cannot be a new name, fide Taxon 24:461-466. 1975, as it has the same type (see ICBN Art. 6.3, Ex. 2)
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 79 (As Canarium nigrum)
• Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Leningrad) 70:784. 1985 (As Canarium tramdenum)
• FAO, 1995, Edible Nuts. Non Wood Forest Products 5.

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