''Mangifera caesia'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

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 and is widely cultivated in areas of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, Brunei,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It was featured in Malaysian stamp, printed in 1999 as a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

in the rare fruits series.

Names

''M. caesia'' is locally known as binjai (

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

), wani ( Balinese language/ Dusun language), yaa-lam ( Thai language), bayuno/baluno/belunok (

Filipino language Filipino ( ; , ) is the national language of the Philippines, the main lingua franca, and one of the two official languages of the country, along with Philippine English, English. It is only a ''de facto'' and not a ''de jure'' standard langu ...

), mangga wani ( Cebuano language/

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

language), and gwani ( Subanen language).

Description

These are restricted to wet lowlands at below . 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 (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

. The flowers are purple or pink, long with five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a large, edible, elliptical drupe long and wide. The skin is thin and green or 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,

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 list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, 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 In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, 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 in either direction.

Culinary uses

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

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

. 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 Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

dish considered to be the country's national dish.

As irritant

Like that of Mango, 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 Tropical fruit Least concern plants Taxa named by William Jack (botanist)