Thai Thakob | ตะขบไทย | Flacourtia rukam
Family: Salicaceae| Genus: Flacourtia
When you visit the DinDang Natural building and living project on the premises of the Thai Child Development Foundation and Eco-Logic Thailand you will find this tree there. Look for the red berries on the ground!
Flacourtia rukam is a species of flowering plant in the willow family. It is native to much of Southeast Asia, where it grows in forests. It is also cultivated for its edible fruit. Common names include rukam, governor's plum, Indian plum, and Indian prune.
This tree can grow 5 to 15 meters tall. The trunk is lined with thorns up to 10 centimeters long; some varieties lack thorns. New leaves are red to brown in color. Mature leaves are somewhat oval in shape with toothed edges and up to 16 centimeters long by 7 wide. Racemes of yellow-green male and female flowers occur in the leaf axils. The rounded fruit is about 2 centimeters long and is green, red, or purple in color.
The trees flower between June and August; the fruit ripens after about 14 weeks. Occasionally flowering occurs at other times of the year.
THE TREE
A small tree, trunk and old branches usually crooked, furrowed, branched near the base; woody, simple or branched spines.
The fruit of the rukam tree is edible.
THE LEAVES
Leaves ovate-oblong or elliptic, shiny dark green above, brownish-red and drooping when young, margins coarsely toothed.
THE FLOWERS
The trees flower between June and August; the fruit ripens after about 14 weeks. Occasionally flowering occurs at other times of the year.
Its flowering clusters are finely covered with hair and found at the leaf axils. They bear few greenish-yellow flowers.
THE FRUIT
Rukam fruits are small, round to oval berries, averaging 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter, that hang in loose clusters from the branches of the tree. The skin of the fruit is taut, smooth, and firm, ripening from green with a red blush to variegated hues of purple to dark red when ripe. Underneath the surface, the flesh is pale yellow to white with a crisp and aqueous consistency, encasing a long flat seed resembling an olive pit. When immature, the fruits are astringent, hard, and crunchy, with a texture similar to an apple. As Rukam fruits mature, the flesh softens and develops a slightly sweet, acidic, and sour flavor.
CULINARY USES
The ripe fruit can be eaten raw. Usually people rub the fruits between the palms of the hand before eating because bruising the flesh eliminates astringency. Fruits are also served in a fruit salad with spicy sauce, pickled, or sweetened with sugar to make jam or confectionaries.
The young leaves are eaten raw in side dishes.
NUTRITION
Rukam fruits are a good source of fiber, which can help stimulate digestion and aid in the removal of unwanted toxins from the body. The berries also contain vitamin A and some calcium, potassium, iron, and phosphorus.
TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USE
NOTE: please take advice from a doctor if you are planning to use herbal medicine.
Immature fruit is used to prepare traditional medicine against diarrhea and dysentery. The juice of the leaves is applied to inflamed eye-lids. In the Philippines a root decoction is taken by women after childbirth.
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