Langsart | ลางสาด | Lansium domesticum
Family: Meliaceae - Genus: Lansium
In front of the Food Forest Kitchen Restaurant you will find the Langsart tree.
The Langsart tree is is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. distinguished by its hairy leaves, as well as the tightly packed dark yellow fruit on its bunches. The fruit tends to be small, with thin skin and little sap; the skin is difficult to remove. The seeds are relatively large, with thin, sour flesh.
Harvest season for the Langsart is May and June.
THE TREE
The tree is average sized, reaching 30 meter in height and 75 centimeters in diameter. The trunk grows in an irregular manner, with its buttress roots showing above ground. The tree's bark is a greyish color, with light and dark spots. Its resin is thick and milk-colored.
THE LEAVES
The leaves are odd numbered, with thin hair, and 6 to 9 buds at intervals. The buds are long and elliptical, approximately 9 to 21 centimeters by 5 to 10 centimeters in size. The upper edge shines, and the leaves themselves have pointed bases and tips. The stems of the buds measure 5 to 12 millimeters.
THE FLOWERS
The flowers are located in inflorescences that grow and hang from large branches or the trunk; the bunches may number up to 5 in one place. They are often branched at their base, measure 10 to 30 centimeters in size, and have short fur.
The flowers are small, with short stems, and have two genders. They are shaped like a five lobed cup and are a greenish-yellow color. The corona is egg-shaped and hard, measuring 2 to 3 millimeters by 4 to 5 millimeters.
THE FRUIT
The fruit can be elliptical, ovoid or round, measuring 2 to 7 centimeter by 1.5 to 5 centimeter in size. Fruits look much like small potatoes and are borne in clusters similar to grapes. The skin thickness varies with the varieties, from 2 millimeter to approximately 6 millimeter. The fruit contains 1 to 3 seeds, flat, and bitter tasting; the seeds are covered with a thick, clear-white aril that tastes sweet and sour.
CULINARY USES
The taste has been likened to a combination of grape and grapefruit and is considered excellent by most. The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, fructose, and glucose.
Thick, sweet, weakly aromatic aril of ripe fruit is eaten fresh and can be preserved in syrup.
It is eaten fresh, made into candies, preserved in syrup, and processed into wine.
Fruit can be consumed raw or cooked.
Seeds can sometimes cling very tightly to the flesh and can then impart their bitterness to the fruit.
Peel of the langsat is easily removed and the flesh is commonly eaten out-of-hand or served as dessert, and may be cooked in various ways.
The peeled, seedless or seeded fruits are canned in syrup or sometimes candied.
NUTRITION
Fresh langsart fruit carries 57 calories per 100 g of edible portion. It has no saturated fats or cholesterol but composes of good amounts of dietary fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, like .Vitamin C, Niacin, Riboflavin0.Thiamine0. Electrolytes, Sodium Potassium, Minerals: Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus
TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USE OF NEEDLE FLOWER
NOTE: please take advice from a doctor if you are planning to use herbal medicine.
Some parts of the Langsart tree are used in making traditional medicine. The bitter seeds can be pounded and mixed with water to make a deworming and ulcer medication. The bark is used to treat dysentery and malaria; the powdered bark can also be used to treat scorpion stings. The fruit's skin is used to treat diarrhea, and the dried skin is burned as a mosquito repellent. The skin can be dried and burned as incense.
INTO THE WILD: a down to earth experience
For guests and visitors to Paksong we organize weekly tours "The Edible Forest" and Foraging weekends: Into the Wild. We work with local guides to take you in the jungle of Paksong. After foraging, we will cook a meal with the ingredients, using bamboo together with you!
Come and join and learn about the abundance of food that nature gives us!
INTO THE WILD!
Comments