Specimen : Cultivated trees
Local name : Bago
Trade name : Gnetum
Botanical name : Gnetum gnemon
Family : Gnetaceae
Specimen height : 4-6 meters
Fruiting season : Immature fruits observed in August and December
Traits : Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Shade tolerant; Small tree; Tolerant of infertile soils
Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Edible gardening; Fallow improvement; Farms; Hedging; Home gardens; Ornamental tree; Plantations; Public spaces; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting
Used for : Seed kernels are edible and are fried, roasted or boiled, or pounded and made into cakes for making Emping; New leaves are eaten as vegetable; Bark fibre is made into rope; Inner bark made into bow string; Timber for simple constructions, house beams or made into boxes and tool handles; Pulpwood; Fuelwood and charcoal
Native range : Malay peninsula, Indonesia, The Philippines, New Guinea and neighboring Pacific islands
National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines
Note : Gnetum gnemon var. gnemon is the specific species naturally found in the Philippines per Rojo’s ”Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees”
Further readings :
Research Information Series on Ecosystems Vol. 13 No. 2 May-August 2001 - Gnetum gnemon (R. Cadiz & H. Florido)
Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)
Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (Gnetum gnemon)
http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Gnetum-gnetum.pdf (526)