Common Name: Galo

General Information

Galo is an erect shrub or tree, usually growing from 5 - 25 metres tall, but exceptionally to 30 metres[]. The bole can sometimes be up to 140cm in diameter[].
The edible fruits and seeds are a popular food, commonly harvested from the wild by local people[]. The plant is sometimes cultivated in the Philippines and Malaysia[]. Galo nut has much potential as an economic crop. Since both the pulp and kernel are edible, only the thin shell has no immediate use. One of its most outstanding features is its very high shelling recovery. Now that the first promising selections have been made and a rapid method of asexual propagation has been developed, the time is ripe to try commercial production[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeastern Asia - Myanmar, through Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Habitat

Lowland and submontane forest, mixed Dipterocarp forest, by streams in kerangas forest, sometimes in peat swamp forest and secondary forest, occasionally on limestone, from sea-level to 700 metres, rarely to 1,400 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropical lowlands, usually growing at elevations up to 700 metres, exceptionally to 1,400 metres. It prefers a climate without a pronounced dry season[].
Prefers a position with some shade[]. The plant is often found in the wild in Kerangas forest - a type of moist, heath forest found on acidic, sandy soils that are low in nutrients, especially nitrogen[].
The trees appear to be highly variable, with some high-yielding forms having been noted[].
Seedlings grow slowly, taking about a year to reach grafting size[].

Edible Uses

Seed - raw or cooked[]. The thin-shelled nuts are of good flavour and quality, they are said to have the flavour of a mixture of sweet corn and chestnuts[, ]. They contain 3.9 - 11.1% protein, 1.8 - 8% fat and 33.4 - 39'5% carbohydrate[].

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. Young fruits are delicious when boiled[]. The pulp of mature fruits can be eaten cooked[]. The yellow or orange fruit is a drupe, 15 - 25mm long, 12 - 20mm in diameter with a thin layer of pulp up to 6mm thick surrounding a single seed[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The pale, reddish-brown wood is hard and heavy, but not durable. It is used for house posts[, ].

Propagation

Seed - germination takes more than 100 days[].
Cleft-grafting onto seedlings 1 year old or more is highly successful[].
Air layering. Takes about 4 months[].

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