From Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12, Medicinal and poisonous plants 1, and No 2, Edible fruits and nuts, PROSEA
Foundation
by F. L. van Holthoon and by P. C. M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L. P. A. Oyen, & T. G. van Lingen
Taxon
Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels
Protologue
U.S. Dept. Agric. Bur. Pl. Industry Bull. 148: 17 (1909).
Synonyms
Phyllanthus acidissimus (Blanco) Muell. Arg. (1863), Phyllanthus distichus (L.) Muell. Arg. (1866), Cicca acida (L.) Merr. (1917).
Family
EUPHORBIACEAE
Vernacular
Names
Otaheite
gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, country gooseberry (En). Cerisier de
Tahiti (Fr). Indonesia: ceremai, cerme (general), caramele (southern
Sulawesi). Malaysia: chermai, chermala, kemangur. Philippines: iba
(Tagalog), bangkiling (Bisaya, Tagalog), karmay (Ilokano). Burma
(Myanmar): thinbozihpyoo. Cambodia: kântûët, kântouot srôk. Laos: nhôm
baanz, mak nhom, nhom ban2. Thailand: ma yom (general). Vietnam:
ch[uf]m ru[ooj]t, t[aaf]m ru[ooj]t. 1,2
Distribution
Origin perhaps in Madagascar, now naturalized and cultivated pantropically, also in South-East Asia. 2
Phyllanthus acidus
is probably native to the coastal region of north-eastern Brazil, but
since time immemorial it has been cultivated, mainly as a fruit tree,
in tropical Asia from India to Malesia and Polynesia, and on all larger
islands of the West Indies. Within Malesia it has not yet been reported
from New Guinea. 1
Uses
The latex is credited with
emetic and purgative activity. In Indonesia, the bark is heated with
coconut oil and spread on eruptions on feet and hands. In Java, an
infusion of the root is taken to alleviate asthma. In Borneo, roots are
used in the treatment of psoriasis of the feet. Although the roots are
weakly poisonous, in Malaysia they used to be boiled and the vapour
inhaled to relieve cough and headache. In the Philippines, leaf
decoctions are applied to urticaria, and a decoction of the bark is
used to treat bronchial catarrh. In Burma (Myanmar), the fruit is used
as a laxative. In India, the fruits are taken as a liver tonic to
enrich the blood. The juice of the root bark is reported to have been
employed in criminal poisonings. 1
The
fruit flesh is added to many dishes in Indonesia as a flavouring. In
the Philippines, the fruit juice is used to make cold drinks and the
fruit to make vinegar. In Malaysia, ripe and unripe fruits are served
as a relish, syrup or sweet preserve. The fruits are also combined with
other fruits in making chutney or jam, because of their setting
properties 1
The
acid fruits are eaten raw (with sugar) or cooked and prepared in
numerous ways. Refreshing drinks are prepared from the fruits. 2
Young
leaves are cooked as a vegetable in Indonesia, Thailand and India. The
wood is fairly hard, strong, tough and durable if seasoned. The bark
has limited use in India as a tanning agent. 1
Observations
A
monoecious, small, glabrous tree up to 10 m tall with phyllanthoid
branching, bark rough, grey, with prominent lenticels; cataphylls not
persistent, blackish-brown, their stipules triangular-ovate; deciduous
branchlets ascending, (20-)25-52 cm long, with 25-40 leaves; leaves
broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, (4-)5-9 cm x (2-)2.5-4.5 cm, base
obtuse to rounded, apex acute, petiole 2.5-4 mm long, stipules
triangular-acuminate; flowers in dense, cushion-shaped cymules at the
nodes of leafless branchlets on older wood, and usually also on
proximal branchlets of current year's growth, pale green to reddish;
male flowers 4-merous, filaments and anthers free, dehiscing
vertically; female flowers on a stout pedicel, 4-merous, disk deeply
lobed or split, styles connate, deeply bifid, staminodes present; fruit
drupaceous, oblate, 1-1.5 cm x (1.2-)1.5-2(-2.5) cm when fresh,
shallowly 6- or 8-lobed, greenish-yellow to creamy-white; seeds smooth.
In north-eastern
Brazil Phyllanthus acidus has been found in coastal forest. In South-East Asia it is cultivated on humid sites, up to 1000 m altitude. 1
Shrub
or tree, 2—9 m tall. Leaves ovate, 2—7 cm long, arranged like a pinnate
leaf along the branches. Flowers male, female or hermaphrodite,
4-merous, rosy, arranged in up to 12 cm long panicles. Fruit a globose
drupe, more or less 6—8-lobed, 1—2.5 cm diameter, yellow-white. Seeds
4—6. In tropical to subtropical climates, preferably on moist sites, up
to 1000 m altitude. Propagation usually by seed, but also by budding or
cutting. 2
Selected Sources 1
[97]
Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora
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[190]
Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of
the 1941-1943 edition. 3 volumes. Technical Bulletin 10. Department of
Agriculture and Natural Resources. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the
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[202] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the
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[287] Council of
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[580]
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[641] IBPGR, 1986.
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[900] Mansfeld,
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[1126]
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Rehm, S. & Espig, G., 1991. The cultivated plants of the tropics
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[1476] Tran Dinh Ly, 1993. 1900 Loai cay co ich o Viet nam [1900 useful plant species in Vietnam]. Hanoi, Vietnam. 544 pp.
[1521]
Verheij, E.W.M. & Coronel, R.E. (Editors), 1991. Plant Resources of
South-East Asia No 2. Edible fruits and nuts. Pudoc, Wageningen, the
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[1555] Webster, G.L., 1956-1958. A monographic study of the West Indian species of Phyllanthus. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 37: 91-122, 217-268, 340-359; 38: 51-80, 170-198, 295-373; 39: 49-100, 111-212.
Selected Sources. 2
[8]
Brown, W.H., 1951–1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of
the 1941–1943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural
Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the
Philippines.
[10] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic
products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd ed. 2 Volumes. Ministry of
Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.
[56] Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems Inc., Winterville, N.C., USA. 503 pp.
[72]
Ridley, H.N., 1922–1925. The Flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 Volumes.
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