Semecarpus cassuvium (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Semecarpus cassuvium Roxb.

Family: Anacardiaceae

• Indonesia: kayu saku (Ambon), lewer (Banda), rotta (Sumba), enga (Mangoli).

Sulawesi (rare), the Lesser Sunda Islands (Sumba), the Moluccas and New Guinea, occasionally also cultivated.

The swollen pedicel is eaten as a fruit. Very young white leaves can be eaten raw. Sap of all other parts is very poisonous and is used as a black dye and in traditional medicine.

• Dioecious tree, up to 26 m tall and 40 cm in diameter.
• Flowers white (March-June).
• Fruit a broad-obovoid drupe, ca. 2 cm × 3 cm; swollen pedicel discoid, 1 cm × 2 cm.

Fruiting from June to October.

• Mansfeld, R. & Schultze Motel, J., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kuturpflanzen. 2nd ed. 4 Volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1998 pp.

• 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.

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