Dillenia reifferscheidia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Dillenia reifferscheidia Villar

Family: Dilleniaceae

Vernacular names

• Philippines: katmon-kalabau (Tagalog), balali, palali (Bikol).

Distribution

Endemic in the Philippines.

Uses

The fruit is edible, with the flavour of an acid-tasting apple. It makes excellent jam. The wood is suitable for construction work.

Observations

• Tree, up to 11 m tall and trunk up to 60 cm diameter.
• Leaves elliptic to obovate, 15-40 cm × 10-30 cm, petioles winged.
• Flowers white, solitary or 2-3 together.
• Fruit berry-like, indehiscent, subglobose, 5-8 cm diameter. Ripe carpels enclosed by the sepals. Carpels 20-25 mm × 10-12 mm, 1-4-seeded.
• Seeds black with a membranaceous aril.

In primary forests in areas with abundant rainfall, up to 1000 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines.

• 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