Garcinia amboinensis
Spreng.
Kaya asam besar
Conveyor Belt
The New York Botanical Garden
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Flavouring, Vegetable
The leaves are eaten as a vegetable with fish. Pieces of the root are used as a flavouring to give a more bitter taste to palm wine.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant.
Asia, Indonesia, SE Asia,
How to Identify
A small tree. It has stilt roots. The leaves are opposite and the leaf stalk is spoon shaped. The leaves are oval and 18-20 cm long by 8-10 cm wide. The male flowers are in flat topped groups and the female flowers are in the axils of leaves. The fruit are round or pear shaped.
How to Grow
Propagation: Seed - we have no specific information on this species, but the seed of most members of the genus can be slow to germinate, even if sown fresh, often taking 6 months or more.
Notes
There are about 300 Garcinia species.
Names & Synonyms
Ai lau asin, Mayurat
References (5)
- GRIN
- Syst. veg. 2:448. 1825
- Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 49
- Vossen, H. A. M. van der & M. Wessel, eds. 2000. Stimulants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). (Pl Res SEAs) 16:130.
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
