Scientific Name
Spondias dulcis Parkinson
Synonyms
Chrysomelon pomiferum G.Forst. ex A.Gray, Cytheraea dulcis (Parkinson) Wight & Arn., Evia acida Blume, Evia dulcis (Parkinson) Comm. ex Blume, Evia dulcis (Parkinson) Kosterm., Poupartia dulcis (Parkinson) Blume, Spondias cytherea Sonn. [1]
Vernacular Name
| Malaysia | Kedondong [2] |
| English | Ambarella, otaheite apple, great hog plum [2], spondias, wi-tree [3] |
| Indonesia | Kedondong manis [2] |
| Thailand | Makok-farang [2], ma kok waan, ma kok farang [3] |
| Laos | Kook hvaan [2] |
| Myanmar | Gway [2] |
| Philippines | Hevi [2] |
| Cambodia | Mokak [2] |
| Vietnam | Cóc [2], c[os]c tr[oof]ng [3] |
| Zaire | Likomba, makomba [3] |
| Madagascar | Farafaka, sakoalahy, sakoambanoitse [3] |
| South America | Caja-manga, hobo de racimos, jobo de la India, jobo de Indio, jocote nomblon, jocote yuplon, juplon, mango jobo, mazana de oro [3]. |
Geographical Distributions
Spondias dulcis is native throughout South and Southeast Asia. It has spread through the tropics. It is the most common Spondias species in Southeast Asia, apart from the Philippines where only S. purpurea L. is well-known. S. cytherea is also an important fruit in some Pacific Island countries such as Samoa. The species is so often planted in Southeast Asia, including in forest clearings, that it is impossible to distinguish between indigenous and naturalised occurrence. [2] S. dulcis grows in the warm subtropics, as well as the tropics; it is slightly less hardy than the mango. In the tropics, it is common up to 700 m altitude. The trees require much light; shaded trees produce little or no fruit. Sheltered locations are advised, as the brittle branches break easily. The trees are drought-tolerant; under stress they may briefly lose their leaves. S. cytherea grows on limestone soils, as well as on acid sands, but the soil should be well-drained. [2]
Botanical Description
S. dulcis is a member of the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large, sometimes buttressed tree, which can reach up to 25(-45) m tall while the trunk is 45(-90) cm in diametre. The bark is shallowly fissured and greyish to reddish-brown. [2]
The leaves are with 4-10 pairs of leaflets, 11-20 cm long rachis and 9-15 cm petiole. The leaflets are ovate-oblong to lance-shaped, measuring 5-15(-25) cm x 1.5-5 cm, chartaceous, unequal at base, with entire margin, serrate or crenulate and acuminate apex. [2]
The inflorescences are paniculate, terminal, usually appear before the leaves and up to 35 cm long. The flowers are cream to white while the pedicel is 1-4 mm long. The 0.5 mm long sepal lobes are triangular. The petals are ovate-oblong and measuring about 2.5 cm x 1 cm. The ovary is 5(4)-celled, with 5(4) styles and free. [2]
The fruit is an ellipsoid or spherical drupe, measuring 4-10 cm x 3-8 cm and bright-orange. The endocarp is peculiar, with irregular spiny and fibrous protuberances. [2]
Cultivation
S. dulcis tree grows quickly and bears fruit within 4 years from seed. In the humid tropics, it produces more or less continuously, following flushing and flowering of individual twigs. In monsoon climate, flowering is concentrated in the dry season while the trees are more or less leafless. Trees in the subtropics flower in spring. In Java, trees flower in July-August and the crop is harvested in January-April when few other seasonal fruits are available. The fruit matures 6-8 months after flowering. In Australia, a period of 3.5-4.5 months has been recorded. Flowers are perfect. Many fruits have only one or two seeds. Some seeds are polyembryonic. The endocarp of good fruit has a rather small hard inner zone which is connected to a delicate peripheral zone by numerous radiating, straight or curved, spinose and fibrous protuberances. The outer zone can be easily torn or peeled off from the inner one. In New Guinea, a form occurs with small, sour but edible fruits. [2]
Chemical Constituent
No documentation
Plant Part Used
No documentation
Traditional Use
No documentation
Preclinical Data
No documentation
Clinical Data
No documentation
Poisonous Management
No documentation
Line Drawing
References
- The Plant List. Ver 1.1. Spondias dulcis Parkinson. [homepage on the Internet]. c2013. [updated 2012 Mar 23; cited 2015 Aug 18]. Available from: http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2480687
- Verheij EWM. Spondias cytherea Sonnerat In: Verheij EWM, Coronel RE, editors. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 2: Edible fruits and nuts. Wageningen, Netherlands: Pudoc, 1991; p. 287-288
- Quattrocchi U. CRC world dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: Common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology; Volume V R-Z. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press; 2012. p. 376-377.
