Common Name: Gandaria

General Information

Gandaria is a large, evergreen tree with very dense foliage, growing up to 27 metres tall. The bole can be 55cm in diameter[].
The fruit is very popular in parts of southeastern Asia and shows promise for greater commercial production[]. An attractive tree that provides excellent shade, it is widely cultivated for its fruit and as an ornamental in some areas of Thailand, Sumatra, Java and Borneo[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - Malaysia.

Habitat

An understorey tree in primary lowland forests below elevations of 300 metres[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Gandaria is a tree of the humid, monsoonal tropics[, ]. It has been successfully cultivated up to elevations of about 850 metres[]. Plants can withstand occasional very light frosts[].
Thrives in light and fertile soil[]. Dislikes calcareous soils[].
Trees begin fruiting in 8 - 10 years from seed, in 2 - 3 years from grafted plants[, ].
Yields of 200kg of ffruit per tree have been achieved[].
There are some named varieties[, ].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. A juicy flesh with a variable flavour ranging from sour to sweet, with a characteristic faint smell of turpentine[, ]. The best forms are sweetish-sour and are eaten raw[]. The skin is usually removed when eating the fruit raw, but there is at least one cultivar where the skin is good to eat[]. Other forms are more acid and are used in cooking as a substitute for tamarinds or sour lime[]. The yellow to orange subglobose fruit is 25 - 50mm in diameter[].
The use of the young fruits is more important; they serve as an ingredient of a special kind of 'sambal', the chilli-based condiment, and in pickles - the bright purple cotyledons in the big seed adding to the attraction of the concoction[].

Leaves - raw[]. Eaten with rice[]. Occasionally the young leaves - which are deep violet, sometimes strikingly white when they emerge - are consumed fresh, to be eaten with the gandaria-flavoured 'sambal'[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is dark brown with black streaks; it is sharply demacated from the light brown sapwood, which has a reddish tinge. Figures are formed by dark-coloured wood parenchyma on flat-sawn surfaces; dark-coloured corewood may be present; vessel lines are distinct: the texture is coarse and even; the grain is straight and/or interlocked. The wood is moderately hard to hard. It is suitable for medium construction under cover, whilst other uses include veneer and plywood, planking, general cabinet works and furniture[].
The wood is said to be durable, but is generally considered of poor quality and is only used for minor purposes[].

Propagation

Seed - Young trees need shade from the strongest sun[].
Grafting

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