Flacourtia rukam

Flacourtia rukam is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae. It is native to Island Southeast Asia and Melanesia, but has spread into Mainland Southeast Asia, India, and Polynesia. It is also cultivated for its edible fruit. Common names include rukam, governor's plum, Indian plum, and Indian prune. This species is a tree growing 5 to 15 meters tall. The trunk is lined with thorns up to 10 centimeters long; some cultivated varieties lack thorns. New leaves are red to brown in color. Mature leaves are somewhat oval in shape with toothed edges and up to 16 centimeters long by 7 wide. Racemes of yellow-green male and female flowers occur in the leaf axils. The rounded fruit is about 2 centimeters long and is green, red, or purple in color.

Description

A tree reaching a height of 5-20 m and about 30 cm across the trunk. It can be 40 m tall with a trunk 1 m across. The old branches are usually crooked with furrows along them. The leaves are 5 to 15 cm long and 4-7 cm wide and pointed at the tip. Young leaves are reddish brown and leaves are shiny on top. The young stems are very rough. The flowers are very small and occur in greenish yellow clusters in axils of leaves. They occur with separate sexes in separate flowers. The fruit is a flattened berry with soft juicy flesh and a red colour. The trunk in young trees has many simple spines. The leaf size and shape varies a lot.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit is eaten raw or rolled between the hands to reduce astringency; it can be sour and is used for jam, sauce, or pickles. Young leaves, shoots, and young roots are also edible.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw when ripe. The fruit are rolled between the hands to reduce the astringency. It can be sour and is used for jam, sauce or pickles. The young leaves and shoots are edible. The young roots are edible.

Medicinal Uses

None mentioned.

Known Hazards

None mentioned.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in humid tropical conditions. It can grow in shade as well as full sun. They occur in Benguet to the southern parts of the islands of the Philippines. Trees occur in tall lowland rainforest. They probably grow from sea level up to about 1600 m in Papua New Guinea. In Samoa it grows from 50 to 550 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, American Samoa, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, China, Chuuk, Cook Islands, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, Rotuma, Samoa, Sarawak, SE Asia*, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, West Indies,

Cultivation

Trees are mostly self sown. They grow from seed. Seed germinate quickly and easily. Trees can be grown from seed or root suckers. Root suckers are commonly produced. Fruit are made sweeter by rubbing them after harvest. Trees can also be budded or grafted. Trees are spaced 8-12 m apart.

Propagation

Seed - germionates readily and quickly. Grafting. Root suckers.

Other Uses

The wood is hard and strong and is used to make household utensils such as pestles and furniture.

Production

Fruiting is seasonal. There can be several flowering and fruiting flushes during the year. Fruit are often produced about September to November in the southern hemisphere. Fruit take 14 weeks to ripen.

Other Information

In Papua New Guinea, trees occur but are not very common in coastal areas. It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

There are about 17 Flacourtia species. Also put in the Flacourtiaceae family.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aganas, Amaiit, Bitongol, Chemechong, Filimoto, Firmoto, Ganda rukem, Hong quan, Indian prune, Kalominga, Kaluminga, Ken, Khrop-dong, Klang tatah kutang, Kupa landak, Meptengkek, Mung guan ru'ung, Pohon rukem jambon, Rokam, Rukam bubur, Rukam gajah, Rukam manis, Rukem, Ta khop thai, Takho-thai, Tepetatah, Ukam

References (66)

• Rukam references Flacourtia rukam
• Alegado, A. M. & De Guzman, R. B., 2014, Indigenous food crops of the Aetas tribe in the Philippines and their traditional methods of food preparation. in Promotion of Underutilized Indigenous Food Resources for Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and Pacific. FAO. Bangkok p 160
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 71
• Barcelo, R., 2015, Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Activity of Edible Wild Fruits in Benguet, Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. Electronic Journal of Biology, 2015, Vol.11(3): 80-89
• Blench, R., 2004, Fruits and Arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific Region. Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 24. (Taipei Papers Volume 2) p 37

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