From Plant
Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA)
by E. W. M. Verheij
Taxon
Muntingia calabura
L.
Protologue
Sp. Pl. 1: 509 (1753).
Family
ELAEOCARPACEAE
Chromosome
Numbers
2n = 28
Vernacular
Names
Capulin,
Jamaica cherry (En). Indonesia: cerri, kersen, talok (Java). Malaysia:
kerukup siam. Philippines: datiles. Cambodia: krâkhôb barang. Laos:
khoom sômz, takhôb. Thailand: takhop farang. Vietnam: trúng cá, mât sâm.
Origin and
Geographic Distribution
Capulin
is a neotropical species that — although not cultivated — has become
pantropical. It was introduced in the Philippines late in the 19th
Century, but its incredible capacity for establishment 'under foot'
quickly has made it one of the most common roadside trees in South-East
Asia.
Uses
School
children compete with
bats and birds for the sweet berries, which can also be preserved, as
indicated by the Sri Lankan name 'jam fruit'. Old sources in the
Philippines mention the use of flowers to prepare an infusion against
headaches, colds, etc. The pliable bark can be used as rough cordage.
The tree serves as a roadside shade tree; the wood is soft and is
valued mostly as fuel.
Properties
Per 100 g edible
portion the berries contain approximately: water 76.3 g, protein 2.1 g,
fat 2.3 g, carbohydrates 17.9 g, fibre 6.0 g, ash 1.4 g, calcium 125
mg, phosphorus 94 mg, vitamin A 0.015 mg, vitamin C 90 mg. The energy
value is 380 kJ/100 g.
Description
Small
evergreen tree, 3—12 m tall, growing and flowering continuously on
fan-like branches; mainline branches becoming erect after leaf fall and
so in turn contributing to the formation of the trunk (Troll's
architectural model). Branches horizontal, pendent towards the tip,
soft-hairy. Leaves simple, ovate-lanceolate, 4—14 cm x 1—4 cm, with
prominent asymmetry of the leaf blade base; leaf margin serrate, lower
leaf surface greyish pubescent. Flowers in 1—3(—5)-flowered
supra-axillary fascicles, hermaphrodite, pentamerous with white petals;
number of stamens increasing from 10—25 in the first emerging flower in
the fascicle to more than 100 in the last; development of the superior
ovary declining in the same order, so that from the third and later,
flowers do not normally set fruit. Fruit a dull-red berry, 15 mm in
diameter, with several thousand tiny seeds in the soft pulp.
Growth and
Development
Inflorescences
are initiated by the growing shoot along with the subtending leaf, and
develop along with this leaf, the fruit maturing shortly before the
leaf falls. The flower fascicle is inserted supra-axillary, up to
halfway along the internode. In the axil proper of the same leaves,
side shoots are formed; these emerge before the inflorescence flowers,
but extension growth is delayed until after the abscission of the
subtending leaf. Under favourable conditions flowering fascicles are
formed with every third leaf, but this may be delayed until the 5th,
7th or 9th leaf or indefinitely. Side shoots are spaced further apart,
but like the fascicles, they normally alternate along the branch.
Thus
growth and development are neatly structured at the shoot level, in a
system which allows continuous extension growth and fruit production.
Flexibility is afforded by varying the spacing of the fascicles, the
number of flowers per fascicle and the sex expression of each flower.
The flowers open just before dawn and last for only a day; bees are the
main pollinators. The species is self-compatible and intensive
pollination is needed to reach the normal number of several thousand
seeds per fruit. The flowers in a fascicle open sequentially at
intervals ranging from 4—9 days. Within 2 weeks from the opening of the
last flower, the first flower of the following fascicle may already
reach bloom. A series of remarkable pedicel movements lifts each flower
bud above the plane of the plagiotropic shoot just before anthesis and
turns the flower to a pendent position within 2 days from fruit set.
Thus the flowers are conspicuous to pollinators and segregated from the
concealed fruit. This favours bats as the main dispersers of the seed
and reduces the likelihood of the bats damaging the flowers. The fruit
ripens in 6—8 weeks from anthesis and the life span of the mature leaf
is only slightly longer.
Fresh seed germination is enhanced by
passage through the digestive tract of bats. The seed is
well-represented in the seed banks of forest soils and requires the
high temperature and light conditions of large gaps in the forest for
germination; the seedlings do not tolerate shade.
Ecology
Capulin
is a typical pioneer species, colonizing disturbed sites in tropical
lowlands which can sustain continuous growth. It thrives at elevations
up to 1000 m. In South-East Asia it is one of the most common roadside
trees, especially in the drier parts such as in eastern Java. It
establishes itself in trodden yards and along shop fronts where no
other tree takes root. The preferred pH is 5.5—6.5; salt tolerance is
poor.
Agronomy
The tree is not
normally cultivated, it spreads spontaneously. Seedlings flower within
two years. Air layers made for home gardens fruit straight away. Rich
moist soils ensure continuous production which is sustained by
replacement pruning. No serious diseases or pests have been reported,
apart from bats.
Genetic
Resources and Breeding
Yellow- and white-fruited types are known and there may be scope for
selection.
Prospects
Capulin is very
common but hardly studied in South-East Asia, although the battered
appearance of the roadside trees testifies to frequent contacts with
students. The species is likely to become more prominent in built-up
areas and could play a larger role in gardens.
Literature
Bawa, K.S. & Webb, C.J., 1983. Floral variation and sexual
differentiation in Muntingia
calabura (Elaeocarpaceae), a species with hermaphrodite
flowers. Evolution 37: 1271—1282.
Fleming, T.H., Williams, C.F., Bonaccorso, F.J. & Hurst, L.H.,
1985. Phenology, seed dispersal and colonization in Muntingia calabura,
a neotropical pioneer tree. American Journal of Botany 72: 383—391.
Webb, C.J., 1984. Flower and fruit movements in Muntingia calabura:
a possible mechanism for avoidance of pollinator-dispenser
interference. Biotropica 16: 37—42.
|
|