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Pangium edule
Salicaceae FAMILY

Pangium edule

Pangium edule

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The leaves, seeds and most other parts of the tree contain a high percentage of gynocardin, a glucoside which readily yields the toxin prussic acid. This is fugitive and, prior to consumption, can be eliminated from the seeds in various ways such as washing, soaking, roasting or subterranean storage. The seed is then perfectly safe to eat when boiled or roasted[1]. Raw seeds are particularly toxic to poultry[1]. All parts of the plant are very toxic[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthMedium

A plant of mainly lowland areas in the humid tropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,200 metres[3]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 18 - 32°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall from 2,000 - 5,000mm, but can tolerate 1,000 - 8,000mm[3]. Prefers a rich, moist, fertile soil and a position in full sun[2]. In Indonesia it prefers slightly acidic soils with a little shade[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, but can tolerate 5 - 7[3]. Young plants grow rapidly in their initial years, but may take 10 - 15 years before they start to bear fruit[3]. The flowers are rather fragrant and are produced immediately after every new flush of leaves. Flushes of the fruit can be produced 1 - 4 times a year[4]. The seeds are well fitted to dispersal by water and have excellent floating capacity; they are frequently found in the beach drift[1]. A mainly dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[1]. The flowers are usually unisexual, but the terminal flowers of the male inflorescence are sometimes hermaphrodite[1]. The male flowers are produced in few-flowered pseudoracemes, the female flowers are mostly solitary in the axils of the upper leaves[1].

Propagation

Seed - in view of the hard seed coat, scarification followed by immersion in water for 24 hours prior to sowing is preferred. A seed bed consisting of sand facilitates transplanting. Germination takes about 1 month, seedlings are transplanted to individual pots when 2 - 3 leaves have developed. Potting medium consists of equal amounts of compost and sand. After 4 months the seedlings can be transplanted to the garden[5]. In a seedling trial of Pangium edule in Malaysia 9 out of 14 non-scarified seeds germinated after 20 - 32 days[5]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pangium+edule>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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
  2. [2]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]The Gardens' Bulletin Vol. 48 — Singapore Botanic Gardens; Singapore · 1996 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN 0374-7859 ↩︎A botanical journal
  5. [5]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  6. [6]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  7. [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  8. [8]Medicinal Plants in Papua New Guinea — World Health Organisation · 2009 · ISBN 978-92-9061-249-0 ↩︎Traditional medicinal uses of 126 species from Papua New Guinea, including information on modern research into the plants.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam — Safford W.E. · Smithsonian Institute; Washington. · 1905 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet.