''Garcinia binucao'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family (biology), family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae ...

family. It is commonly known as binukaw, takway or batuan, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''

Garcinia ''Garcinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Clusiaceae native to the Sundaland bioregion of Asia, America, Australia, tropical and southern Africa, and Polynesia. The number of species is disputed; Plants of the W ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is not cultivated, though its edible fruits are harvested from the wild for use as a souring agent in some Filipino dishes.

Taxonomy

Binukaw belongs to the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' (the mangosteens) of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. The first description of the

correct name In botany, the correct name according to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, p ...

of the species is attributed to the French botanist

Jacques Denys Choisy Jacques Denys (Denis) Choisy (5 April 1799, Jussy – 26 November 1859, Geneva) was a Swiss Protestant clergyman and botanist. He studied theology, law, humanities and sciences at the ''Académie de Genève''. In 1821 he became ordained as a minis ...

in ''Description des guttifères de l'Inde'' (1849) based on the

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

''Cambogia binucao'' from the Spanish friar and botanist

Francisco Manuel Blanco Manuel María Blanco Ramos known as Manuel Blanco (1779 – 1845) was a Spanish friar and botanist. Biography Born in Navianos de Alba, Castilla y León, Spain, Blanco was a member of the Augustinian order of friars. His first assignment was ...

in ''Flora de Filipinas'' in 1837. The plant is known as ''binukaw'' (also spelled ''binucao'', ''binukau'', or ''bilukaw'') in Tagalog, and ''batuan'' in

Visayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...

. Other names include Ilocano ''balakut'', Bikol ''buragris'', and

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...

Visayan ''haras''. The common names are sometimes shared with other similar ''Garcinia'' species in the Philippines like ''

Garcinia morella ''Garcinia morella'' is a species of tree in the family Clusiaceae found in India, and Sri Lanka. Common names * Assamese: Kũzi Thekera (কুঁঁজী ঠেকেৰা) * English: ''gamboge'' (Sri Lanka), ''gamboge'' (India) *Tamil: ''ir ...

''.

Description

Binukaw is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree growing to a maximum height of around with a trunk around in diameter. The leaves are oblong to obovate around long and wide. The flowers are reddish to creamy white in color. The fruits are round

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

, around in diameter with a juicy pulp and numerous seeds.

Distribution

Binukaw is endemic to the

Culinary

The sour fruits are edible and can be eaten raw. They are also commonly used as a souring agent in traditional Filipino dishes like ''

sinigang ''Sinigang'', sometimes anglicized as sour broth, is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind (Filipino language, Filipino: ''sampalok''), although it can use other sour fruit ...

''. 'Takway' is called "pansit ng bukid" since it grows almost anywhere in the fields. In

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

, it is called "palutpot" or "runners" of root crops or

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

. As culinary ingredient, it combines with coconut milk, like

ginataan ''Ginataan'' (pronounced: ), alternatively spelled ''guinataan'', is a Filipino language, Filipino term which refers to food cooked with ''gatâ'' (coconut milk). Literally translated, ''ginataan'' means "done with coconut milk". Due to the gene ...

g alimango. In

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

paksiw ''Paksiw'' () is a Filipino style of cooking, whose name means "to cook and simmer in vinegar". Common dishes bearing the term, however, can vary substantially depending on what is being cooked. '' Pinangat na isda'' may sometimes also be r ...

na takway is blended with mora moro or mackerel scad (galunggong).

Conservation

The species is becoming rare due to

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

for agriculture.

References