Canarium album (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Canarium album (Lour.) Raeuschel

Family: Burseraceae

Vernacular names

• Chinese olive (En)
• Thailand: samo cheen (Bangkok)
• Vietnam: trám tráng.

Distribution

Vietnam, southern China including Hainan; much cultivated in these areas. It is occasionally cultivated elsewhere in South-East Asia, e.g. on Sumatra near Medan.

Uses

The pulp and seeds from the fruits are edible and are prepared in several ways. Especially esteemed by the Chinese. Sometimes the wood and the resin are used. The tree is also planted as ornamental.

Observations

• Tree, up to 30 m tall and 1.5 m in diameter.
• Leaves 3-6-jugate.
• Infructescences up to 15 cm long with up to 6 fruits.
• Fruit an ovoid to spindle-shaped drupe, 2.5-3.5 cm × 1.5-2 cm, white; pericarp rather thick.
• Seeds 1 or 2.

In light to dense forests on dry to moist soils, at 400-1200 m altitude.

Selected sources

• van Steenis, C.G.G.J. et al. (Editors), 1950-. Flora Malesiana. Series 1. Vol. 1, 4-10. Centre for Research and Development in Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, and Rijksherbarium, Leiden, the Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen