Sapindaceae FAMILY

Meliosma sumatrana

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree

Growth—

The pollen ripens and the anther-cells burst while the flower is still in bud, but the pollen is still unable to escape from the anther-cells as these are locked in the cavities of the staminodes. When the bud is fully mature, it explodes at the slightest touch, the stamens snapping backwards and flinging a puff of pollen into the air. When the flower is open, petals and stamens, having done their duty, very soon drop off; hence in a Meliosma panicle almost only buds and passed flowers are found, but very few intact open flowers^[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Meliosma+sumatrana>

Pollinators

Self

References

[1]Revision of Meliosma (Sabiaceae), section Lorenzanea excepted, Living and Fossil, Geography and Phylogeny — C.F. Van Beusekom · 1971 ↩︎
[2]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
[3]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
[4]Plants of Southeast Asia — http://www.asianplant.net/ ↩︎Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,