Dracontomelon

Dracontomelon
Fruits of Dracontomelon duperreanum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Subfamily: Spondiadoideae
Genus:
Blume, 1850.

Dracontomelon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, growing mostly in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.[1] The fruit may be used in local cuisine, especially as a souring agent, including in Vietnam, where it is known as sấu.[2]

Species

Dracontomelon vitienseEspiritu Santo island, Vanuatu.
  • Dracontomelon costatum Blume - Borneo, Sumatra
  • Dracontomelon dao Merr. & Rolfe (many synonyms) - Southeast Asia to Solomon Islands
  • Dracontomelon duperreanum Pierre (syn. D. sinense) - southern China and Vietnam
  • Dracontomelon laoticum C.M.Evrard & Tardieu
  • Dracontomelon lenticulatum Wilkinson[3] - New Guinea
  • Dracontomelon macrocarpum Li - China (Yunnan)
  • Dracontomelon petelotii Tardieu - northern Vietnam[4]
  • Dracontomelon schmidii Tardieu - Vietnam
  • Dracontomelon vitiense Engl. - Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Western Samoa (Upolu)

Reclassified species

The following are known synonyms:

Dracontomelon duperreanum

Culinary use

The most commonly eaten species is Dracontomelon duperreanum, which produces an edible fruit that is eaten in Cambodia, Vietnam[2] and China. In Vietnamese, the plant is called cây sấu and is a common urban tree in Hanoi; the fruit is called quả sấu. The fruit is used in Vietnamese cuisine both as a souring agent and a candied treat similar to the Japanese umeboshi. The treat is popular among youths. In Chinese, the fruit is called 仁面.

References

  1. ^ Blume, Carl L. von (1850) In: Museum Botanicum Lugduno-Batavum sive stirpium Exoticarum, Novarum vel Minus Cognitarum ex Vivis aut Siccis Brevis Expositio et Descriptio (Blume, ed.), 1 [15]: 230-231.
  2. ^ a b Phạm Hoàng Hộ (2003) Cây Cỏ Việt Nam: an Illustrated Flora of Vietnam vol. II publ. Nhà Xuẩt Bản Trẻ, HCMC, VN.
  3. ^ The Plant list (20 January 2018)
  4. ^ GBIF: Dracontomelon petelotii
  5. ^ Dracontomelon pilosum Seem. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 February 2024.