''Pangium'' is a genus in the family

Achariaceae Achariaceae is a family of flowering plants consisting of 31 genera and about 155 species of tropical herbs, shrubs, and trees. The APG IV system has greatly expanded the scope of the family by including many genera previously classified in Flac ...

containing the sole species ''Pangium edule'', a tall tree native to the mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia (

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

). It produces a large poisonous fruit (the "football fruit" or pangi) which can be made edible by fermentation. It is

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. The taxonomy of the tree is uncertain, and it may also be classed in the

Flacourtiaceae The Flacourtiaceae is a defunct family of flowering plants whose former members have been scattered to various families, mostly to the Achariaceae and Salicaceae. It was so vaguely defined that hardly anything seemed out of place there and it bec ...

or the

Violales Violales is a botanical name of an order of flowering plants and takes its name from the included family Violaceae; it was proposed by Lindley (1853). The name has been used in several systems, although some systems used the name Parietales for ...

Description

The tree can reach in height. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are heart-shaped. The brownish fruit grows in clusters and is shaped like a pear.

Cultivation

The tree requires many years to mature, and the seeds are therefore most frequently harvested from wild trees, as it is not economically feasible to cultivate. Although poisonous to humans, the seeds of the tree form part of the natural diet of the

babirusa The babirusas, also called deer-pigs (), are a genus, ''Babyrousa'', in the Suidae, swine family found in the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian Islands, Togian, Sula Islands, Sula and Buru. All members of this genus were considered part of a ...

(''Babyroussa babyrussa'').

Uses

The fresh fruit and seeds contain

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boiling, boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is ...

, and are thus deadly poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves and earth for forty days, during which time they turn from a creamy white colour to dark brown or black. The method relies on the fact that the hydrogen cyanide released by the boiling and fermentation is water-soluble and easily washed out. The kernels may be ground up to form a thick black gravy called . Popular dishes include , beef stew in paste, popular in East and Central Java, and , rawon stew made with beef or chicken, also made in East Java. In West Java and Jakarta, , snakehead fish in paste soup, is a popular traditional dish in

Betawi cuisine Betawi cuisine is rich, diverse and eclectic, in part because the Betawi people that create them were composed from numbers of Native Indonesian, regional immigrants that came from various places in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Chinese ...

. The

Toraja The Torajan are an ethnic group indigenous people, indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regency of T ...

dish (black spice with fish or meat, also sometimes with vegetables) uses the black powder. In

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the seeds are best known as an essential ingredient in '' ayam'' (chicken) or ''babi'' (pork) , a mainstay of Peranakan cuisine. The

Dusun Dusun may refer to: * Dusun language, language of Dusun people of Borneo * Dusun people Dusun is the collective name of an indigenous ethnic group to the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic ...

tribe of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

use this pounded kernel as main ingredient for making local signature dish called , a sour fermented fish. People of the

Minahasa The Minahasans or Minahassa are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the M ...

tribe in North Sulawesi use the young leaves as a vegetable, slicing them small, then cooking them with herbs and pork fat or meat inside bamboo. Many sellers in the

Tomohon Tomohon is a landlocked City status in Indonesia, city in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It covers an area of 147.21 km2, and had a population of 91,553 at the 2010 Census,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. rising to 100,587 at the 2020 Census ...

traditional market sell the leaves.

Nutrition

The edible portions of the plant are an excellent source of vitamin C and high in iron.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q974608, from2=Q18667433 Achariaceae Achariaceae genera Monotypic Malpighiales genera Flora of Malesia Flora of Papuasia Flora of Vanuatu Edible nuts and seeds Dioecious plants Taxa named by Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt