''Mangifera caesia'' is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. Known in English as jack or white mango, among other names. It belongs to the same genus as the

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

and is widely cultivated in areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. It was featured in Malaysian stamp, printed in 1999 as a postage stamp in the rare fruits series.

Names

''M. caesia'' is locally known as binjai ( Malay language), wani (

Balinese language Balinese is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by 3.3 million people () on the Indonesian island of Bali as well as Northern Nusa Penida, Western Lombok, Eastern Java, Southern Sumatra, and Sulawesi. Most Balinese speakers also know Indo ...

/ Dusun language), yaa-lam ( Thai language), bayuno/baluno/belunok ( Filipino language), mangga wani ( Cebuano language/ Sabah language), and gwani ( Subanen language).

Description

These are restricted to wet lowlands at below 450m. It requires rainfall and is rarely in found forests but rather abundant in marshes and riverside areas. Grows up to tall with a dense crown of round-shaped

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. The flowers are purple or pink, 0.7 cm long with five sepals. The fruit is a large, edible, elliptical

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

long and wide. The skin is thin and brown with darker patches, and the flesh is yellow-white, mushy, and strongly odorous with an acid-sweet or sour taste. The binjai is believed to originate from the island of Borneo, but is commonly grown elsewhere for its edible fruit. The tree is one of the most common and valuable ''Mangifera'' species in western Malaysia, where it is cultivated extensively in orchards. It is also widely grown in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, and Borneo.

Reproduction

This tree produces thousand of fruits, ripening three months after anthesis. The fruit matures during the rainy season, this is a deciduous, stands erect and bare before shedding large bud scales that envelops twigs and inflorescence.

Propagation method

It is propagated from seeds or through marcotting. Grafting on the seedling stock is also possible through inarching potted rootstocks onto twigs of mother trees. The mature tree requires abundant space, about 12m to 16m in either direction.

Used in dishes

The fruit of the ''M. caesia'' can be served fresh, preserved or cooked. They can be eaten dipped in

chili Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

and dark

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

. In Bali, it is used as an ingredient for local creamy juices, also for making spice base for chillies sambal which is eaten with river fish. it can also be used in making pickles. The wood is used for light construction. In Brunei, where it is called , the fruit is used to make a variety of or dipping sauce for ambuyat, a sago dish considered to be the country's national dish.

Nutritional value

Nutritional value of binjai fruit per 100 grams: *Water 86.5g, * Protein 1g, * Fats 0.2g, *

Carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

including

fibers Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

11.9g, * Ash 0.4g, * Thiamine 0.08 mg, * Beta-carotene 0.005 mg and * Vitamin C 58 mg. *Total Energy 200kJ/100g.

As irritant

The sap of ''M. caesia'' can cause skin eruptions or dermatitis. It unripe fruits' sap can also cause irritation.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4499976

caesia ''Caesia'' is a genus of herbs in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae,Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards)"Hemerocallidoideae" ''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website''. Retrieved 2016-06-10. native to Australia, New Guinea, Madagascar and Sou ...

Tropical fruit Least concern plants