Excoecaria indica

(Willd.) Muell. Arg.

Mock willow

EuphorbiaceaeSeeds/NutsSpice/BeveragePotential hazards — see below

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(c) Tithira Lakkana, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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(c) renjus box, some rights reserved (CC BY)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Spice

The ripe seeds are eaten.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in swampy places up to 250 m above sea level.

Asia, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vietnam,

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 tree. It grows 18-27 m tall. The trunk has thorns. The leaves are narrowly sword shaped and 5-12 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. There are 2 small glands at the base. The leaves taper to the tip. There can be rounded teeth along the edge. The flowers are in spikes near the ends of branches. They are 5 cm long. There are many male flowers and 1-2 female flowers at the base. The fruit is a round woody capsule. It is 3 cm across.

Notes

There are about 40 Exocaecaria species. They grow in the tropics. The name may change to Shirakiopsis indica (Willd.) Esser.

Names & Synonyms

Ai tui, Apid-apid, Gurah, Krahut, Ku-ra, Ludai, Samo thale, Tagewa

Sapium indicum Willd.Stillingia diversifolia Miq.Stillingia indica (Willd.) BaillonExcoecaria diversifolia (Miq.) Mull. Arg.

References (5)

Linnaea 32:123. 1863
Milow, P., et al, 2013, Malaysian species of plants with edible fruits or seeds and their evaluation. International Journal of Fruit Science. 14:1, 1-27
PROSEA handbook Volume 13 Spices. p 276 and 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous.
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 155 (Genus)
Sosef, M. S. M., Hong, L. T., & Prawirohatmodjo, S., (Eds.), 1998, Timber tree: Lesser-known timbers. Plant Resources of South-East Asia, 5(3), p 229

What to Eat

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

How to Identify

Notes

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