PITHRAJ TREE

Common Name: Pithraj Tree
Vernacular Name: Pasak Lingga
Botanical Name: Aphanamixis polystachya
Specimens From: India
Specimens Weight: 12 gms [0.4 oz] (average wgt per fruit)

Pithraj tree is originated from India, Indochina, Malesia, South China and the Pacific Islands.

If you had seen or eaten a langsat fruit before, Pithraj tree fruit looks similar in size, shape and colour and even smells like one too. Almost round with a slight pointed tip and with a cream skin.

The seed is red and rather big and there may be one or more seeds in a single fruit. The flesh is off white. This fruit is usually eaten by monkeys or other animals. The oil of the seed is toxic and used for insect repellent.


Fruit: Pithraj Tree; Aphanamixis polystachya; Meliaceae.


Other fruit in the same family: Duku, Langsat


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PEANUT BUTTER FRUIT

Common Name: Peanut Butter Fruit
Vernacular Name: Ciruela De Fraile
Botanical Name: Bunchosia armeniaca
Specimens From: Peru
Specimens Weight: 12 gms [0.4 oz] (average wgt per fruit)

Peanut butter fruit is native to South America and it is rare elsewhere. This common English name is also applied to several other species of fruits, so do not be confused.

The fruit is about the size of a quail egg and shaped like one too but with a pointed tip. There is also a line across one side, similar to the plum. It is green when young but will turn orange and finally to red when ripe.

There are two seeds and it is flattened on one side. The seed is not edible. The skin is thin and the flesh is red with a soft texture, similar to the peanut butter but it does not taste like one. It is slightly sour and not much sweet either. It is used more for food flavoring than for fresh consumption.


Fruit: Peanut Butter Fruit; Bunchosia armeniaca; Malpighiaceae.


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GREY TEAK

Common Name: Grey Teak
Vernacular Name: White Beech
Botanical Name: Gmelina dalrympleana
Specimens From: Australia

Grey teak is native to Australia and New Guinea. The fruit is green when unripe and will change to an attractive pinkish-red or red when ripe. The size is small, not any bigger than a grape and the shape is obovoid.

There is a single hard seed. The flesh is white but will immediately turn yellow to brown once it is exposed, similar to the oxidation of a common apple.

The usage of this plant is mainly for its timber and not for the fruits. It is juicy but bitter and not palatable. It is mostly for the birds to feast on it.  


Fruit: Grey Teak; gmelina dalrympleana; Lamiaceae.


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TONGKAT ALI

Common Name: Tongkat Ali
Vernacular Name: Long Jack, Pasak Bumi, Malaysian Ginseng
Botanical Name: Eurycoma longifolia
Specimens From: Malaysia

Tongkat Ali is native to Malaysia and Indonesia. Tongkat Ali is a Malay word, which literally means "walking stick Ali". This name is commonly used in Malaysia, whereas it is known as "pasak bumi" in Indonesia. In the English-speaking countries, it is known as "Long Jack".

The fruit is small and oblong in shape. Green when young, turning to red and finally to dark red to almost black when it ripens. It contains a yellow seed, which is fairly big for a fruit of that size.

Tongkat Ali is generally used as an aphrodisiac by men and to a lesser extend, used as testosterone boosters in bodybuilding. Studies on animals have shown positive results too. But the potency is found mainly in the roots and not in the fruits. Hence, the fruits are usually neglected whereas the root extracts are not cheap. The root extracts are extremely bitter while the fruits are rather tasteless.


Fruit: Tongkat Ali; Eurycoma longifolia; Simaroubaceae.


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