Terminalia copelandii — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Nuts

The seeds or nuts from the fruit are recorded as edible, though this is a minor food source.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. They occur in primary rainforest up to 500 m altitude. This species occurs in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as Papua New Guinea. It is mostly known from the Western Province within Papua New Guinea.

Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, Solomon Islands,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Micronesia, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen

How to Identify

A large tree up to 40 m tall. Trees often have many buttresses. The twigs are thick and have leaf scars which are prominent. The leaves are crowded at the thickened end of the small branches. Leaves are 22-36 cm long and 9-13 cm wide. They have no real leaf stalk. Flowers are small and white on many flowered stalks 22-30 cm long and near the end of branches. Flowers towards the base of the flower spike are female and the ones towards the end are male. The fruit is 3.5-6 cm long and 2.2-3 cm wide. They are oval and slightly flattened.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Other Information

The tree is not common in Papua New Guinea and mostly occurs in the Western Province. It is only a minor food.

Notes

There are about 200-250 Terminalia species. They are tropical.

Names & Synonyms

Ketapang darat, Lanipae, Matapang, Pohon ketapang hutan, Yanipo

Terminalia catappoides C.T. White & Francis

References (10)

Bourke, M., 1995, Edible Indigenous Nuts in Papua New Guinea. In South Pacific Indigenous Nuts. ACIAR Proceedings No 69, Canberra. p 46
Coode, M.J.E., in Womersley, J.S., (Ed), 1978, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea. Melbourne University Press. Vol 1. p 77
French, B.R., 1986, Food Plants of Papua New Guinea, A Compendium. Asia Pacific Science Foundation p 169
French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 185
Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 5:1759. 1913
Powell, J.M., Ethnobotany. In Paijmans, K., 1976, New Guinea Vegetation. Australian National University Press. p 112
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 547
Walter, A. & Sam C., 2002, Fruits of Oceania. ACIAR Monograph No. 85. Canberra. p 282
Wickens, G.E., 1995, Edible Nuts. FAO Non-wood forest products. FAO, Rome. p 116
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew