Payena ferruginea

J. T. Pereira

Sapotaceae Edible: Fruit

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

gbif· cc-by

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Summary

Source: Wikipedia

Payena ferruginea is a tree in the family Sapotaceae. The specific epithet ferruginea means 'rust-coloured', referring to the indumentum.

Description

A tree. It grows 45 m tall. The stem has white sap. The leaves are alternate and simple. The leaves are hairy underneath. The flowers are 11 mm across. They are yellow. They are in bundles in the axils of the leaves. The fruit are about 3 cm long. They are green.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in forests up to 500 m above sea level. It grows on sandy soils.

Where It Grows

Asia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia,

Cultivation

Species in this genus will generally grow in a variety of soils.

Other Uses

Wood. The sapwood is pale yellow to pink. We do not have any more specific information on the wood of this species, but it belongs to a group of timbers collectively called 'Nyatoh'. The general description of nyatoh wood is as follows:- The heartwood is a dark pink to a red-brown; it is clearly demarcated from the 4 - 9cm wide band of lighter-coloured sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked, sometimes wavy. The wood is light in weight, soft to moderately hard; strong, somewhat durable, being resistant to dry wood borers, moderately resistant to fungi but susceptible to termites. It seasons somewhat slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is stable in service. There is a very variable content of silica according to the species, but in general the wood has a high blunting effect so stellite-tipped and tungsten-carbide tools are recommended; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct. The wood has a range of applications, including for high class furniture and cabinet making, solid doors, panelling, joinery, parquet flooring, boat decking, light carpentry, turnery, moulding and veneer.