Canarium ovatum

Canarium ovatum is a species of the genus Canarium within the family incense tree family ( Burseraceae ). It provides an edible fruit ( " Kedongdong ," engl. " Pili nut" ). The original home is located in the Philippines, but this type is grown in the tropics.

Description

Appearance and leaf

Canarium ovatum grows as a evergreen tree, reaching heights of growth of up to about 20 meters and trunk diameter of about 50 centimeters. It has a resinous wood, and is resistant to wind. He forms a symmetrical tree crown.

The alternate and spirally arranged on the branches of deciduous leaves are pinnate about 40 inches long and unpaired. The four to eight leaflets are ovate to elliptic, stiff, leathery with length of 4 to 24 inches and a width of 2 to 12 inches, with smooth boundary, non- reciprocal basis, rounded up nearly heart-shaped end terminating abruptly pointed and eight to twelve pairs of lateral nerves. The stipules long stick, they are triangular to ligulate and 5 to 20 millimeters long with a width of 3 to 10 millimeters.

Inflorescence, flower and flower ecology

Canarium ovatum is dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). Together with the budding of new leaves, the Philippines, is from March to June, at the ends of young branches densely sitting together, pendant, zymöse (narrow thyrsoide ), 3 to 12 inches long inflorescences are formed, which contain some very short -stalked flowers. In the inflorescences bloom from bottom to top on.

The unisexual flowers are pubescent, up to 12 millimeters long and threefold. The cup-shaped calyx is 8-9 mm long in male flowers up to 7 mm long and in the female flowers. The three petals are 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. In the male flowers the 2 × 3 fertile stamens are somewhat fused with the discus. In the female flowers six staminodes are present and the three carpels are fused to a dreikammerigen ovary; the stamp is about 7 millimeters long. Each ovary chamber contains two ovules, but usually only one of them is evolving. The flowers open 16 to 18 clock and at the same time or shortly after the pollen is released and the scars are capable of pollination. Pollination is by insects ( entomophily ). Fertilization rate is about 85%. If pollination is successful the ovary begins to enlarge after about a week and the petals fall off.

Fruit and seeds

In seedlings, the trees bear after five to six years, in vegetatively propagated plants have three to four years after planting fruits. From pollination to fruit ripening, it takes about ten months. The stone fruit is egg-shaped with a length from 3.5 to 7 centimeters and a diameter of 2.3 to 3.8 centimeters to ellipsoid, pointed and triangular in cross section. At maturity, the fruits have a weight between 15.7 to 45.7 g The fruit skin ( exocarp ) is smooth, thin, shiny, glabrous; it is initially pale green and turn purple - black when ripe. The fruit pulp ( mesocarp ) is fibrous, fleshy, thick and greenish yellow. The tan to dirty brown, hard endocarp is pointed at the bottom and at the top end more or less dull. The inner layer of the endocarp forms tightly around the seed a thin, brownish, fibrous Samenmatel. A large part of the seed weight make the two seed leaves ( cotyledons ) from about 4.1 to 16.6% of the fruit weight and consists of 8 % carbohydrate, 11.5 to 13.9 % protein and 70 % fat. On some trees the seeds are bitter, fibrous and have a smell of turpentine.

Use

The seed is eaten raw or roasted with honey, whole or ground processed into sweets. From the seeds of an oil can be pressed that is composed mainly of oleic acid and palmitic acid. The annual income of a tree from the age of about 6 years of age is up to 32 kg Rohkerne.

The core ( botanically the seed ) is surrounded by a thin, edible layer. This layer can be eaten cooked. She is very oily, the oil is also used in cooking.

The wood is used as firewood, as well as the woody shell around the seed. The wood provides a resin which is sold under the name Elemi.

Occurrence

Canarium ovatum native to the Philippines; He is frequent and wild in southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and parts in the lower and middle levels of virgin forests.

Swell

• Francis T. Zee: Pili Nut, Fact Sheet for New Crop.
• Rafael T. Cadiz: Canarium ovatum fruit, Burseraceae (PDF, 556 kB), In: C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. & Jamnadass A. Simons, 2009: Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0.

• Soap tree -like
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• Tree