Antidesma
Encyclopedia
Antidesma is a species of tropical plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae. The Phyllanthaceae are most numerous in the tropics, with many in the south temperate zone, and a few ranging as far north as the middle of the north temperate...

. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 meters in height.It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimeters long and seven wide. The flowers have a strong, somewhat unpleasant scent. The staminate flowers are arranged in small bunches and the pistillate flowers grow on long racemes which will become the long strands of fruit. The fruits are spherical and just under a centimeter wide, hanging singly or paired in long, heavy bunches. They are white when immature and gradually turn red, then black.When they are still white they have sour and astringent taste, sour taste when they are red and have sweet and sour taste when they are black. Antidesma is native to the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

 Tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

. They have about 100 species and the highest number in South-East Asia. There are 18 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Antidesma in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Synonymy

The genus Antidesma is also known as several other names:
  • Bestram
  • Coulejia
  • Minutalia
  • Rhytis
  • Rubina
  • Stilago

Description

The evergreen (sometimes deciduous) simple leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 have fine hairs and show no glands. They grow in an alternate arrangement, with entire, symmetrical blades. They are connected to the stem with a petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

 (leaf stalk) and stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...

s (appendage at the base of a leaf stalk).

The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s grow in a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

, with 1 bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...

 per flower, on a short pedicel (tiny stalk, supporting a single flower). Their color is light yellowish green, but may turn red when mature. These plants are dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....

, i.e. unisexual, with male and female flowers on separate plants. There are 3 to 8 fused sepals, but no petals. The male flowers have 2 to 8 stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s, but no pistils. The female flowers have 2 to 6 stigmas. They have a 1-locular ovary with 2 ovules.

The globose to ellipsoid fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

s resemble a drupe. Their color varies from green to white, red and black. The fleshy and juicy fruits are edible with a sour to bitter sweet taste.

Species

Here is a list of Antidesma species, with each species's distribution in parentheses:
  • Antidesma acidum : (Thailand
    Thailand
    Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

    )

  • Antidesma acuminatissimum
  • Antidesma agusanense : (Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

    )
  • Antidesma angustifolium : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma aruanum : (New Guinea
    New Guinea
    New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

    )
  • Antidesma baccatum : (New Guinea
    New Guinea
    New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

    )
  • Antidesma boridiense : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma brachyobotrys : (Malaysia, Borneo
    Borneo
    Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

    )
  • Antidesma bunius
    Antidesma bunius
    Antidesma bunius is a species of fruit tree in the Phyllanthaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and northern Australia. Its common Philippine name and other names include bignay, bugnay or bignai and currant tree. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall...

    - bignay, current tree, currentwood, wild cherry (Queensland
    Queensland
    Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

    , Southeast Asia
    Southeast Asia
    Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

    )
    • Antidesma bunius var. bunius
    • Antidesma bunius var. pubescens
  • Antidesma calvescens
  • Antidesma cambodianum
  • Antidesma catanduense : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma celebicum : (Sulawesi
    Sulawesi
    Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

    )
  • Antidesma chalaranthum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma cinnamomifolium : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma clementis : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma cochinchinense
  • Antidesma concinnum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma contractum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma cordato-stipulaceum : (The Philippines)
  • Antidesma cordatum : (Malaysia, Borneo)
  • Antidesma coriaceum : (Malaysia, Sumatra
    Sumatra
    Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

    , Borneo, Sulawesi)
  • Antidesma coriifolium : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma costulatum
  • Antidesma cruciforme
    Antidesma cruciforme
    Antidesma cruciforme is a species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family. It is endemic to Malaysia.-Source:* Kochummen, K.M. 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....

    : (Malaysia).
  • Antidesma cumingii : (Philippines, Sulawesi)
  • Antidesma curranii : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma cuspidatum : (Malaysia, Borneo, Sulawesi)

  • Antidesma dallachyanum : Herbert River cherry (Queensland)
  • Antidesma decandrum
  • Antidesma diandrum : (Java)
  • Antidesma digitaliforme: (Philippines)
  • Antidesma discolor : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma diversifolium : (Sumatra)
  • Antidesma edule
  • Antidesma erostre : wild currant, currantwood (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma elassophyllum
  • Antidesma ferrugineum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma forbesii : (Sumatra)
  • Antidesma fructiferum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma fusicarpum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma ghaesembilla : black tree (Australia, Southeast Asia)
  • Antidesma gillespieanum
  • Antidesma globuligerum : (Sulawesi)
  • Antidemesma hainanense
  • Antidesma helferi : (Malaysia, Thailand)
  • Antidesma henryi
  • Antidesma heterophyllum : (Java)
  • Antidesma hosei : (Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra)
  • Antidesma ilocanum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma impressinerve : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma insulare
  • Antidesma japonicum : (Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    , Thailand, Malaysia)
    • Antidesma japonicum var. japonicum
    • Antidesma japonicum var. robustius
  • Antidesma jucundum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma katikii : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma kerrii : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma kusaiense
  • Antidesma laciniatum : (Aduigbo, Nigeria
    Nigeria
    Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

    )
  • Antidesma laurifolium : (Thailand, Malaysia)
  • Antidesma ledermannianum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma leptocladum : (Thailand, Philippines)
  • Antidesma leucocladon : (Malaysia, Sumatra)
    • Antidesma leucopodum var. kinbaluense : (Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo)
  • Antidesma linearifolium : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma longipes : (Malaysia)
  • Antidesma lucidum
  • Antidesma luzonicum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma macgregorii : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma maclurei
  • Antidesma martabanicum : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma megalophyllum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma membranaceum : (Asofeyeje, Nigeria)
  • Antidesma membranaefolium
  • Antidesma menasu
  • Antidesma microcarpum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma microphyllum : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma mindanaense : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma minus : (Java)
  • Antidesma moluccanum : (Sulawesi, New Guinea)
  • Antidesma montanum : (Southeast Asia)
    • Antidesma montanum var. microcarpum
    • Antidesma montanum var. microphyllum
    • Antidesma montanum var. montanum
    • Antidesma montanum var. salicinum
    • Antidesma montanum var. wallichii
  • Antidesma montis-silam : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma mucronatum : (Sumatra)
  • Antidesma myriocarmum : (New Guinea)
    • Antidesma myriocarpum var. puberulum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma neurocarpum : (Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo)
  • Antidesma nienkui : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma novoguineense : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma nitidum
  • Antidesma obliquicarpum
  • Antidesma obliquinervium
    Antidesma obliquinervium
    Antidesma obliquinervium is a species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....

    : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma oblongifolium : (Sumatra)
  • Antidesma oligoneurum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma olivaceum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma orarium : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma orthogyne : (Thailand, Malaysia)
  • Antidesma pachystachys : (Malaysia)
  • Antidesma pahangense : (Malaysia)
  • Antidesma palembanicum : (Sumatra)
  • Antidesma paxii : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma pedicellare : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma pendulum : (Malaysia, Borneo)
  • Antidesma pentandrum : (Philippines)
    • Antidesma pentandrum var. angustifolium
  • Antidesma perakense : (Malaysia)
  • Antidesma persimile : (Malaysia)
  • Antidesma petiolare
  • Antidesma petiolatum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma phanerophlebium : (Philippines, Sulawesi)
  • Antidesma plagiorrhynchum : (Sumatra)

  • Antidesma platyphyllum
    Antidesma platyphyllum
    Antidesma platyphyllum is a species of flowering tree in the leafflower family, Phyllanthaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Common names include Hame, Haa, Mehame, Hamehame, Mehamehame, and Haāmaile. It inhabits coastal mesic forests, mixed mesic forests, wet forests, and bogs at elevations of on...

    : Haa, Hame (Hawaii
    Hawaii
    Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

    )
    • Antidesma platyphyllum hillebrandii : Hillebrand’s Haa
  • Antidesma pleuricum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma polyanthum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma polystylum : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma pseudopetiolatum (New Guinea)
    • Antidesma pubescens var. moritzii
  • Antidesma pulvinatum : Mēhame (Hawaii)
  • Antidesma puncticulatum
  • Antidesma pyrifolium
    Antidesma pyrifolium
    Antidesma pyrifolium is a species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....

  • Antidesma ramosii : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma rhynchophyllum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma riparium : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma rotatum
  • Antidesma roxburgii
  • Antidesma rufescens
  • Antidesma salicinum : (Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo)
  • Antidesma samarense : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma santosii : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma sarcocarpum : (Philippines, New Guinea)
  • Antidesma sootepense : (Thailand)
  • Antidesma spatulifolium : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma sphaerocarpum : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma spicatum : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma stenocarpum : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma stenophyllum : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma stipulare: (Southeast Asia)
  • Antidesma subcordatum : (Philippines)
    • Antidesma subcordatum var. glabrescens
  • Antidesma subolivaceum
    Antidesma subolivaceum
    Antidesma subolivaceum is a species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 20 August 2007....

    : (Philippines)
  • Antidesma tagulae : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma tenuifolium
  • Antidesma tetrandrum : (Java, Sulawesi)
  • Antidesma thwaitesianum : (Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines)
  • Antidesma tomentosum : (Southeast Asia)
  • Antidesma trichophyllum
  • Antidesma urdanetense
  • Antidesma vaccinioides : (New Guinea)
  • Antidesma velutinosum : (Thailand, Malaysia, Java)
  • Antidesma velutinum : (Thailand, Malaysia)
  • Antidesma venenosum : (Borneo)
  • Antidesma venosum : (Aroro, Nigeria)
  • Antidesma vogelianum : (Ojuat kachi, Nigeria)
  • Antidesma yunnanense : (China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

    )
  • Antidesma zippelii : (Lesser Sunda Islands
    Lesser Sunda Islands
    The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...

    )
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