''Mangifera caloneura'' (also known as poh in Javanese or Ma muang paa in Thai) is a fruit bearing tree in the family

Anacardiaceae The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce ...

. It is native to

Mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

Description

The tree has been observed growing up to tall, however, a height of roughly is much more common. It excretes a

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

upon injury that sets into a black colour. The diameter of the tree's trunk varies but is typically around , although it has been seen at sizes of over . It has fissured bark of a colour that varies between black, grey and brown. Its leaves are

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

and take on an

oblong An oblong is an object longer than it is wide, especially a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land ...

to lanceolate-oblong shape. Like other ''Mangifera'' species, their texture has been described as chartaceous to subcoriaceous. The petioles are typically long. Leaf sizes vary, roughly, between a width of and , as well as a length of to . The fruit are small compared to other species in the genus, such as ''

Mangifera indica ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is an evergreen species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height and width of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern m ...

'', however, they are similarly shaped. The fruit are in size and the seed's endosperm is ruminate. When ripe, the fruit has greenish-yellow to orange skin and the flesh is white. When fully developed, the fruit are roughly . Its flowers are small, typically measuring around . There are 5

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s on each flower. The flowers have 4 to 5 petals, each is typically long. The petals are white with a longitudinal yellow colouration. The flowers' stalks are very short.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to

. Specifically, it is native to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. It occurs within monsoonal deciduous forests,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s and lowland tropical rainforests

Uses

The young leaves of the tree can be eaten uncooked, they have been described as sour tasting. The fruit itself is also eaten, the taste has been described as sweetly acidic. There has been research into potential

pharmacological Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

applications of the leaf extract of ''Mangifera caloneura'' due to its

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

and

antidiabetic Drugs used in diabetes treat types of diabetes mellitus by decreasing glucose levels in the blood. With the exception of insulin, most GLP-1 receptor agonists ( liraglutide, exenatide, and others), and pramlintide, all diabetes medications a ...

properties. A 2015 study was conducted on rats that had been artificially induced with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

following a controlled application of

streptozotocin Streptozotocin or streptozocin ( INN, USP) (STZ) is a naturally occurring alkylating antineoplastic agent that is particularly toxic to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in mammals. It is used in medicine for treating certain can ...

. These rats were then given a dosage of the leaf extract at a concentration of 250 mg/kg for 6 weeks. When comparing with the control it was shown that the blood-glucose levels of the rats had significantly decreased to the point where the leaf extract may be viable as a potential diabetes medication.

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18080028 caloneura Fruit trees Flora of Thailand Flora of Cambodia Flora of Laos Flora of Vietnam Flora of Myanmar Taxa named by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz