Native wild edible : Sterculia foetida

Aug 112012

It was March and the summer heat was relentless but this stinky Sterculia foetida flowers was truly refreshing to see. These pictures of the lone tree that my farm helper and I found growing on a savannah a few kilometers off the farm is truly among my favorites.

I’ve heard accounts of people living in remote areas collecting the seeds for roasting and eating. They eat them like you would with roasted or fried peanuts.

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine forests, dry grasslands, open slopes

Local name : Kalumpang

Trade names : Wild almond, Poon tree

Botanical name : Sterculia foetida

Family : Malvaceae

Specimen height : 8 - 20 meters

Trunk : Erect and cylindrical, clear bole of 6 meters; Bark smooth, brown to dark grey; Branches whorled around the main stem

Leaf : Digitate with numerous elliptic or lanceolate leaflets; Green turning yellow before falling collectively

Flower : In panicles, small, yellow and reddish brown, malodorous

Fruit : Clusters of 1 to 5 woody or fibrous, dehiscent, hollowed follicles, green to rusty red to dark brown; Seeds oblong, few to numerous, coated with black or grey seedcoat that peels readily when dry

Fruiting season : Ripened fruits observed from December to January

Traits : Deciduous; Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Fast growing; Low to medium altitude tree; Medium-sized tree; Spreading crown; Salt spray tolerant; Tolerant of infertile soil; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Boundary marker; Coastal stabilization; Conversation piece; Erosion control; Large roadside tree; Riparian management; Shade tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Edible seeds are eaten roasted or fried; Seeds used as adulterant for cacao; Seeds are also eaten as purge / dewormer; Oil from seeds have uses in local culinary and traditional medicine; Oil as an illuminant; Fiber obtained from the bark used as cord; Pulpwood; Timber for interior works, veneer, plywood, musical instruments, wooden containers, small articles and carving; Trunk yields gum or glue used in bookbinding; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : East Africa, South Asia, the Malayan peninsula, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines to Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Observed possible threat : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use