The plant is probably a domesticate of the Cordia dichotoma complex[].

Common Name: Sapistan Plum

General Information

Sapistan plum is a large evergreen shrub or tree with a dense crown, that can grow up to 12 metres tall. The bole is stout and crooked[, ].
A multi-purpose tree, it is often harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It has been cultivated for its many uses since the time of the ancient Egyptians, and is still sometimes cultivated nowadays for its edible and medicinal fruit in many areas of the tropics and subtropics[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - Indian subcontinent.

Habitat

Not known in a truly wild situation, it occurs spontaneously around villages and old abandoned habitations in west Africa, where it may at one time have been cultivated[]. Dry deciduous woodland, mainly on alluvial soil up to 1,500 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	12.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plants can succeed in warm temperate to tropical areas[]. It can tolerate some frost[].
Plants prefer a sunny position, but can tolerate moderate shade[]. Prefers a moist, freely-draining loamy soil[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
The plant often escapes from cultivation[]. This report does not make clear whether it invades and harms native environments[].
A fairly fast-growing pant, it can commence flowering when 3 - 5 years old[].
In arid regions in India, a plantation of eight year-old trees yielded on average 32.4 kg fruits per tree per year. Individual fruits weigh about 5g[].
Plants can be coppiced and pollarded[].
Dioecious, at least one male plant must be grown with 5 females in order to produce fruit and seed.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. The ripe fruit has a sweet, sticky, mucilaginous flesh[], it can be mixed with honey to make a sweetmeat or to sweeten gruels and porridges[, ]. The unripe fruits are eaten as a vegetable[]. The ovoid fruit is about 35mm in diameter[].

Seed - raw[, , ]. It tastes somewhat like a filbert (Corylus maxima)[]. The seed is oily, containing palmitic, stearic, olic and linoleic acids and β-sitosterol [].

Flowers - used as a vegetable[].

Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used as a vegetable[, , ].

Medicinal

The bark, leaves and fruit have medicinal properties, they are used variously as diuretics, demulcents and in the treatment of stomach aches, coughs and chest complaints[, ].

The juice of the bark is taken internally in the treatment of fevers[]. Combined with coconut oil, it is taken to treat colic[].
The powdered bark is applied to the skin in cases of broken bones before a plaster is applied, to improve healing. Bark powder is used externally in the treatment of skin diseases[].

A macerate of the leaves is used as a treatment for sleeping-sickness taken internally, and applied externally as a lotion to the fly-bites[].
The juice of the leaves is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches[]. The leaves are applied to wounds, sores and ulcers[, ].

The sticky, mucilaginous pulp of the fruit is the source of a well-known medicine in the Near and Middle East. Called 'sapistan', it is useful in the treatment of coughs, sore throats and chest-complaints on account of its demulcent property[, ].
The fruit is also used externally as an emollient plaster to maturate abscesses, to calm rheumatic pain and as an antiparasitic on ringworm[, ].

Stereols and a gum have been recorded in the leaves[].
The leaves and the fruits contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, saponins, terpenes and sterols[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used in shelter-belts in semi-arid regions to prevent soil erosion[].
Used as a shade tree in coffee plantations in Yemen[].

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the stem bark is used to make twine and cordage[, , ]. The fibre is also used for caulking boats[].

The leaves and fruits are used as dyes[]. There is a substance in the fruit that will stain linen, but not indelibly[].

The fibrous bark is used for cordage[].

The ash of the young branches is used to make soap[].

The sticky, mucilaginous pulp of the fruit is used as a glue[].

The wood has been used as fire-sticks[].

The yellow-brown wood is soft but strong, easy to polish[, ]. It is used for furniture making, cabinet work, well curbs, boats and agricultural implements[, , ].

Propagation

Seed - very slow to germinate, the process can be sped up if the seed is scarified by lightly abrading the seedcoat to allow easier ingress of water[]. Pre-soak the seed in cold water for 6 hours before sowing - a germination rate of 50 - 80% can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 40 - 60 days[]. Young plants can be planted in their permanent positions 4 - 6 months later[].
Cuttings.

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