Endospermum moluccanum

(Teijsm. & Binn.) Kurz

Euphorbiaceae Edible: Leaves Potential hazards — see below

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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Bell Museum, University of Minnesota

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Description

A tree. It can grow 30 m tall. The trunk is straight and 60 cm across. It can have buttresses. Trees are separately male and female.

This description is brief — help expand it

Edible Uses

Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

Traditional Uses

Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable. Caution: The can cause loose bowel motions.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The young leaves are mildly laxative, older leaves strongly so. They are used as treatment for infections and aches. The bark is considered to have anti-fertility properties.

Known Hazards

The leaves can cause loose bowel motions.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows up to 900 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Asia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Solomon Islands,

Cultivation

The plant grows in the wild on clay, sandy clay, limestone, gravel and loose volcanic soils. The plant can flower and set fruit all year round. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Other Uses

The very light wood is used to make floats. The tree is used for constructing semi-permanent houses. We do not have any more information on the wood for this species. However, a general description of the wood for the southeast Asian and Pacific members of this genus is as follows:- The heartwood is light brown, straw, or pale cream in colour; it is not differentiated from the sapwood. The texture is rather coarse; the grain straight to shallowly interlocked; somewhat lustrous; there is no distinctive odour or taste. The wood is not durable, and is particularly prone to stain and powder-post beetle attack. It dries rapidly with only slight warping and checking, though if tension wood is not discarded the warp is severe. The wood machines easily in both the green and dry condition, though surfaces may be slightly woolly when sawn; it can be peeled for veneer without prior heating. The wood is used for purposes such as joinery, matches, pattermnaking, boxes and crates, furniture components, plywood, light construction, carvings, wooden shoes.