''Spondias pinnata'', sometimes also known as hog plum, is a species of tree with edible sour fruits. It is native 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 ...

and

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, ...

, but has been widely naturalized in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

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 ...

, Southern China, and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

. It belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. This species, among several others, has sometimes been called the "wild (or forest) mango" in other languages and was once placed in the genus ''

Mangifera ''Mangifera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It contains 64 species, with the best-known being the common mango ('' Mangifera indica''). The center of diversity of the genus is in the Malesian ecoregion of S ...

''. It is found in lowlands and hill forests up to .

Description

''Spondias pinnata'' is a deciduous tree up to in height); branchlets yellowish brown and glabrous. 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 large, with pairs of leaflets (see illustration) on petioles that are and glabrous; leaf blades , imparipinnately compound with 5-11 opposite leaflets; leaflet petiolule ; leaflet blade ovate-oblong to elliptic-oblong, × , papery, glabrous on both sides, with margins that are serrate or entire; the apex is acuminate, lateral veins 12-25 pairs. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is paniculate, terminal, and glabrous, with basal first order branches . The flowers are mostly sessile and small, white and glabrous; calyx lobes are triangular, approx. . Petals are ovate-oblong, approximately ;

stamens 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 filamen ...

are approximately . The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

ellipsoid to elliptic-ovoid, olive green becoming yellowish orange at maturity, × ; inner part of endocarp woody and grooved, outer part fibrous; mature fruit usually have 2 or 3 seeds. In China, it flowers from April–June and fruits from August–September.

Vernacular names

''Spondias pinnata'' may be called in: * (''hwei'' or ''gwei'') * Chinese: , * * Cebuano (and other Visayan languages): ''alubihid'' or ''alubihod'' * Khmer /pɷːn siː pʰlaɛ/ () or /məkaʔ prẹj/ (), * Javanese (and Malay, Sundanese): ''kedondong'' (also for '' Spondias dulcis''), ''kloncing'' * Yapese and Palauan in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

: ''Titimer'' * Vietnamese: ('forest ango-type fruit) * Balinese: ''kecemcem'' * , ''also written ໝາກກອກ, ໝາກກອກ(ສົ້ມ)'' * Tamil: புலிச்சா காய் (, meaning "sour fruit"); in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

it is also called , although this more commonly refers to '' Spondias dulcis'' * , (eponym of the Thai capital

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

) *

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: आम्रातकः (āmrātakaḥ) * Tulu: ಅಂಬಾಡೆ (Ambaḍe) *

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

: अंबडे () *

Assamese language Assamese () or Asamiya ( ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language. It has long served as a ''lingua franca'' in parts of Northeast India."Axomiya is the major langu ...

: আমৰা () *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: അംബഴം () * Bengali: আমড়া () *

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

: ಅಮಟೆಕಾಯಿ () * Odia: ଆମ୍ବଳା/ଆମ୍ବଡ଼ା () *Lhotshamkha (

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

): ''Amara'' *

Nepali language Nepali (; , ), or ''Gorkhali'' is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official and most widely spoken Languages of Nepal, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a ''lingua fr ...

: लापसी (Lāpsi)

Uses

The fruits have a sour taste and can be eaten raw or made into jams, jellies, or juices. They can also be used as feed for pigs (hence the common name "hog plum"). In the Philippines, leaves and fruits are used as a souring agent in various native 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 ...

'', '' sinanglay'', or '' laing''. In India, pickle is made using quartered fruits preserved in mustard oil, salt, and spices. Along with mango and chili pepper pickle, it is the most common type of pickle found in households in many parts of India.

Gallery

''Spondias pinnata'' specimens from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9395416 pinnata Flora of tropical Asia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger

Description

Vernacular names

Uses

Gallery

See also

References