''Mangifera torquenda'' is a species of flowering plant, a fruit tree in 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 ...

family, that is native to Southeast Asia.

Name

The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''torquenda'' (‘which is to be twisted’) refers to the method of opening the fruits by cutting around the outer skin and then twisting them. Local names include lamantan, kemantan and buniton.

Description

The tree grows to 40 m in height with a 10 m bole and a dark green, rounded crown. The oval leaves are smooth, 17–21 cm long by 6–9 cm wide. The inflorescences occur as 25 cm pseudo-terminal

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of fragrant, white to pale yellow flowers. The fruits are round to ovoid

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'') ...

s 7.5–10 cm long by 6.5–8.5 cm wide, greenish-yellow when ripe, with brown spots and patches. The flesh is pale yellow and edible. The seed has a smooth white

endocarp Fruits are the mature ovary (plants), ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. In some fruits, the edible portion is not derived from the ...

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

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, where it is found in lowland and hill mixed dipterocarp forest up to an elevation of 800 m.

Usage

The species is cultivated around villages in East Kalimantan; elsewhere the fruits are generally collected from forest trees. The sour flesh is used in sambals and in cooking fish, and the juice used in cordials.

References

torquenda Trees of Sumatra Trees of Malaya Trees of Borneo Fruits originating in Asia Plants described in 1965 Taxa named by André Joseph Guillaume Henri Kostermans {{Anacardiaceae-stub