Semecarpus forstenii

Blume

Moluccan Rengas

AnacardiaceaeFruitPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit stalk

The fleshy fruit stalk is eaten.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest up to 1,200 m above sea level. It is often in swamps.

Asia, Indonesia, 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 shrub or tree 3-10 m tall. It can grow to 27 m high. The trunk can be 40 cm across. The leaves are alternate and oblong 16-50 x 7-11 cm. The leaf stalk is 1-4 cm long. The sap of the tree can damage the skin. The flowers are 2.5 mm across. They are white and in groups. The fruit are 8 mm long and orange and fleshy.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Semecarpus forstenii is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The tree's sap is poisonous.

Notes

Collected on Makira San Cristobel by Brass. Specimen in Harvard herbarium.

Names & Synonyms

Pohon rengas maluku

Cassuvium silvestreSemecarpus congestiflora K. Schum & LauterbachSemecarpus decipiens Merr. & PerrySemecarpus laxiflora K. Schum.Semecarpus roxburghii Bl.Semecarpus scabrida K. Schum.Semecarpus uncata Slis

References (6)

Blume, 1850, Mus. Bot. 1.
French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 385
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 603
Peekel, P.G., (Trans. Henty, E., 1984), Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago, Division of Botany, PNG. P 326-328.
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 503
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew