Bridelia ovata

Decne

Makaa tree

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(c) Greg III Espera, some rights reserved (CC BY)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The small black fruits are eaten, especially by children.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows on sand dunes and in open forest.

Asia, Australia, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand, Timor-Leste,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A shrub or small tree. It grows 2.5-10 m high. It has many stems. The leaves are small and oval. They are 3-8 cm wide by 8-12 cm long. The flowers are small and white with yellow centres. They lie along the stem. They have a sweet scent. The fruit are small and green but turn black when ripe. There is one seed in each fruit.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are purgative. Another report says that they are a mild laxative. They are used in the treatment of syphilis.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Bridelia ovata is a species of flowering plant in the family Phyllanthaceae, native from Indo-China to west Malesia. It was first described by Joseph Decaisne in 1834.

Notes

There are about 60 Bridelia species.

Names & Synonyms

Pnektrey, Pohon congcong behut, Seik-che, Seik-che-phalan

Bridelia burmanica Hook.f.Bridelia kurzii Hook.f.Bridelia lanceolata Kurz ex Teijsm. & Binn.Bridelia ovata var. acutifolia Mull.Arg.Bridelia pedicellata Ridl.Cleistanthus lanceolatus (Kurz. ex Teijsm. & Binn.) Mull.Arg.

References (4)

Cherikoff V. & Isaacs, J., The Bush Food Handbook. How to gather, grow, process and cook Australian Wild Foods. Ti Tree Press, Australia p 145
Levitt, D., 1981, Plants and people. Aboriginal uses of plants on Groote Eylandt. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. p 94
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 162
Turreira Garcia, N., et al, 2017, Ethnobotanical knowledgeof the Kuy and Khmer people in Prey Lang, Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2017 (1): 76-101