Baccaurea motleyana
Encyclopedia
Baccaurea motleyana is a species of fruit tree
which grows wild in parts of Southeast Asia
and is cultivated for its fruit in Thailand
and Peninsular Malaysia
. Its common names include rambai and rambi, and in Thai language
mafai-farang. This is a tree generally growing to 9 to 12 meters in height with a short trunk and a broad crown. The evergreen leaves are shiny green on the upper surface and greenish-brown and hairy underneath. Each leaf is up to 33 centimeters long and 15 wide. The species is dioecious
, with male and female flowers growing on separate individuals. Both types of flowers are fragrant and have yellow sepal
s. The staminate
raceme
s are up to 15 centimeters long and the pistillate
inflorescences may reach 75 centimeters in length. The fruits are each 2 to 5 centimeters long and about two wide and grow in strands. Each fruit has velvety pinkish, yellow, or brown skin which wrinkles at ripening and is filled with whitish pulp containing 3 to 5 seeds. The pulp is sweet to acid in taste. They may be eaten raw or cooked or made into jam or wine. The tree is also used for shade and low-quality wood.
Fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...
which grows wild in parts of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and is cultivated for its fruit in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
. Its common names include rambai and rambi, and in Thai language
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
mafai-farang. This is a tree generally growing to 9 to 12 meters in height with a short trunk and a broad crown. The evergreen leaves are shiny green on the upper surface and greenish-brown and hairy underneath. Each leaf is up to 33 centimeters long and 15 wide. The species is dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with male and female flowers growing on separate individuals. Both types of flowers are fragrant and have yellow sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The staminate
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s are up to 15 centimeters long and the pistillate
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
inflorescences may reach 75 centimeters in length. The fruits are each 2 to 5 centimeters long and about two wide and grow in strands. Each fruit has velvety pinkish, yellow, or brown skin which wrinkles at ripening and is filled with whitish pulp containing 3 to 5 seeds. The pulp is sweet to acid in taste. They may be eaten raw or cooked or made into jam or wine. The tree is also used for shade and low-quality wood.