Benstonea atrocarpa

(Griff.) Calim. & Buerki

PandanaceaeLeaves

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(c) Ganjar Cahyadi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ganjar Cahyadi

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(c) Ahmad Fuad Morad, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves - flavouring

Although no specific records have yet been seen for this species, most members of this genus have more or less edible fruits, seeds and inner leaf bases. The cylindrical fruit is a syncarp made up of a number of individual drupes. Individual drupes are hard, woody wedges - each containing a few, slender seeds. Each wedge has a fleshy base imbued with a sweet-smelling, orange pulp that in many species has a delicious flavour. This pulp needs to be cooked in order to destroy a deleterious substance. The seed often has a delicious nutty flavour when eaten raw or cooked, though it is fiddly to extract. Seeds contain 44 - 50% fat and 20 - 34% protein. Inner base of young leaves - raw.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in lowland swamp forest.

Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore, Thailand,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, 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 tropical pandanus tree growing in lowland swamp forests. The young leaves are used as a food flavoring.

How to Grow

Branches do not have dormant buds and so will not resprout if cut back into the old wood. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruits and seed are required.

Propagation: Seed - best pre-soaked for 24 hours prior to sowing.

Other Uses

The leaves are used on a large scale for making kadjangs (a type of hut), mats, hats etc. They can be used to make the sails of small vessels.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Benstonea atrocarpa is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to the swamp and peat forests of Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra.

Names & Synonyms

Mengkuang

Pandanus atrocarpus Griff.

References (1)

Ong, H. C., Mojiun, P. F. J., & Milow, P., 2011, Traditional knowledge of edible plants among the Temuan villagers in Kampung Guntor, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 6(8), pp. 1962-1965, 18 April, 2011 (As Pandanus atrocarpus)