Crateva religiosa J.G. Forster
Family
Capparaceae
Synonyms
C. macrocarpa Kurz.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kepayan, kemantu, dangla. |
| English | Sacred barma |
| Indonesia | Jaranan (Javanese), barunday (Sundanese), sibaluak (Sumatra). |
| Philippines | Salingbobog (Tagalog), balai-lamok (Iloko), banugan (Bisaya). |
| Cambodia | Tonliëm. |
| Laos | Kumz. |
| Thailand | Kum-bok, kum nam. |
| Vietnam | b[us]n thi[ee]u, b[us]n l[owj]. |
Geographical Distributions
Crateva religiosa is distributed from India throughout South and Southeast Asia to Micronesia and Polynesia, wild and occasionally cultivated. C.religiosa is also frequent in Borneo, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Description
C. religiosa is a tree, with measure 5-15(-30) m tall, grey in colour of bark, yellowish-white wood but turns light-brown in colour when old. The petiole is measure (3.5-)6.5-10 cm long where on sterile twigs are often much longer. The stipules are subulate, and measure about 0.5-1 mm long.
The leaflets are very variable, asymmetrically oblong to ovate in shape and with a size of measuring about 8.5-27 cm x 3-10.5 cm. The central leaflet is oblong to obovate in shape, narrowly decurrent base, shortly acuminate apex, often mucronulate, with 7-11 pairs of veins, subsessile and thin-herbaceous.
The flowers are measure about 2-14, 3-5(-14) cm long rachis where the lower flowers are inserted above the axil of normal leaves while the others are subtended by an early caducous bract. They are 10 mm x 1-1.5 mm, with measuring 2-9 cm long pedicels, ovate sepals, obtuse to acute in shape, measuring about 4-7 mm x 1.5-3 mm while the petals are broadly ovate to elliptical in shape, measure about 2-4 cm x 1-2.3 cm and with measure about 5-20 mm long of narrowed base. The stamens are (10-)13-18(-30), measuring 4.5-11.5 cm long filaments, pink or purple in colour towards the top, the measure of anthers is about 2.5-6 mm long and measure about 4-7 cm long gynophores.
The berry is slightly spherical to subovoid in shape, measuring about 6-15 cm x 5.5-9.5 cm and it is whitish-grey in colour.
The seed is dorsally keeled and sparsely to densely tuberculate.
Ecology / Cultivation
C. religiosa is often found in periodically inundated forest, usually below 100 m altitude, but also occurring up to 700 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12 (2): Medicinal and poisonous plants.
