Baccaurea angulata - Belimbing Merah

Baccaurea angulata is a tropical wild fruit indigenous to Borneo. Baccaurea angulata is also known locally as Belimbing Merah, Belimbing Bukit, Gerumin Bereh (Bidayuh), Tampoi Merah, Uchong (Iban) or Belimbing hutan.



Elsewhere, this fruit is also called as Embaling (Sabah), Embaling bobou (Brunei) and Asem ketiak, pidau (Kalimantan).



Baccaurea angulata is also close relative of the Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola). Some may called it Red Angle Starfruit.



The Baccaurea angulata fruits have a tangy taste, both the aril and the skin. A seasonal fruit which is often seen from November to January, sold by roadside sellers and in native fruit and vege markets.



Ripen Baccaurea angulata are either in red or pinkish.



And when the season come, Baccaurea angulata is very generous with its fruits. The fruits are borne from the trunk and branches. Plentiful of them.



Baccaurea angulata may reach 8 m tall, profusely branched. Flowers (yellow) and fruits (red) colourful so may be planted as an ornamental. Fruits are angular and inside is white, juicy, sourish-sweet edible pulp.

Macadamia Integrifolia Nuts

I get to hold a box of Macadamia Integrifolia Nuts, freshly flown from Hawaii. Would you believe it? Macadamia Integrifolia Nuts in Malaysia. And no, the nuts will not be roasted but destined to a nursery. Hawaii is the largest producer of Macadamia nuts.



Macadamia nuts (Macadamia integrifolia) are dry drupes containing a very hard seed-bearing endocarp. According to most botanical references, the outer husk represents part of the ovary wall or pericarp.



They are small to large evergreen trees growing to 2–12 m tall. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6–30 cm long and 2–13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin. The flowers are produced in a long slender simple raceme 5–30 cm long, the individual flowers 10–15 mm long, white to pink or purple, with four tepals. The fruit is a very hard woody globose follicle with a pointed apex, containing one or two seeds.



The nuts are a valuable food crop. Only two of the species, Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla, are of commercial importance. The remainder of the genus possess poisonous and/or inedible nuts, such as M. whelanii and M. ternifolia; the toxicity is due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides.



Macadamia tree cultivation and processing

The macadamia tree is usually propagated by grafting, and does not begin to produce commercial quantities of nuts until it is 7–10 years old, but once established, may continue bearing for over 100 years. The macadamia nut has an extremely hard shell, but can be cracked using a blunt instrument, such as a hammer or rock applied with some force to the nut sitting in a concave surface, or a custom made macadamia nutcracker can be used.

Macadamia Nuts in the Diet Lower Cholesterol

How many times have you said, "nuts to the diet." Well now perhaps it should be "nuts in the diet." It seems that macadamia nuts may be a good addition to the daily diet, particularly if you want to reduce blood cholesterol levels. Macadamia nuts like all non-animal foods contain no cholesterol. But they are remarkable in the fact that their fat contains over 86% monounsaturated fatty acids. The average macadamia nut will also add about 18 calories to your diet. Oil from the macadamia nut is used in the cosmetic industry because of similarities between the nut oil and human skin.

Recommended link:
* Fruits Called Nuts
* HAWAII MACADAMIA NUT ASSOCIATION

Dimocarpus longan malesianus fruit bud

Up close photo of Dimocarpus longan malesianus fruit bud. The fruit bud is about the size of a matchstick head. Dimocarpus longan var. malesianus, locally known as Buah Mata Kuching, is a subspecies of longan that is better adapted to tropical conditions.



Longan fruit is consumed fresh, dried, frozen and canned. Fresh fruit is consumed to reduce fevers, and the dried fruit as a cure for insomnia. Leaves contain quercetin, with antioxidant and antiviral properties, and are used in the treatment of allergies, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Crushed seeds produce foam, which is used as shampoo. The wood is used in the construction of furniture and other articles. The tree is also planted as an ornamental.

SEO: Euphoria longana, Euphoria longan, Nephelium longana, Nephelium longan, Buah Lengkeng, Buah Lenggeng, Mata Kucing

nature | photo

Shorea (Meranti) Nuts - Winged fruits

Photos of Shorea matured nuts. The nuts is also known locally as buah Engkabang or Mengkabang. In Bidayuh, it is called Buah Bekawang.


Above: Look like a nipple fruit.

Shorea is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae, from the type genus Dipterocarpus. Dipterocarpus, is derived from Greek (di = two, pteron = wing and karpos = fruit) and refers to the two-winged fruit. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the Governor-General of the British East India Company, 1793-1798. They are native to southeast Asia, from Northern India to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.


Above: Four wings fruit

Many economically important timber trees belong to Shorea. They are sold under various trade names including "Meranti", "Lauan" (or "Luan"), "Seraya", "Balau", and "Bangkirai". Other products from Shorea spp. include Dammar and Illepe. Dammar is a resin collected from a variety of species. It varies in colour among the different taxonomic groups. Shorea wiesneri is listed in many website as an important source of dammar.



Note: The Shorea nuts was collected fro 13th Mile Kuching Serian road.

Recommended reading:
* Photo of Green Grapes in the Tropic
* Rambutan - Nephelium lappaceum
* Barbados cherry in Borneo
* Freak papaya from Borneo

SEO: Buah engkabang | bekawang | mengkabang | buah meranti

nature | photo

Freak papaya from Borneo

This my second series on nature's freak. The first one was about a Branched coconut tree. Below is a photo of a freak papaya which bear 3 papaya fruits on a single stem. A triplet papaya.


Above: While branched papaya tree is common, branched papaya fruit is rare.


How a normal papaya tree look like.

The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures. It is sometimes called a "big melon" or a "paw paw" but the North American pawpaw is a different species, in the genus Asimina.

Location of photo subject: My house backyard at Kuching.

nature's freak

Barbados cherry in Borneo

Close up photo of a tiny apple after the rain. Actually, the dwarf apple like fruit is a Barbados cherry.

Acerola (Malpighia glabra) or Acerolla, also known as Barbados cherry or wild crapemyrtle, is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small tree in the family Malpighiaceae.

Rambutan - Nephelium lappaceum

The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and the fruit of this tree. It is probably native to Southeast Asia (including Borneo), although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan and Mamoncillo. Rambutan in Indonesian or Malay literally means hairy or hairy fruit caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. In Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino.


Macro shot of Rambutan hairs


Closeup shot of Rambutan hairs


A ripening Rambutan fruit


Rambutan fruit bunch, how it look from far.

Photo of Green Grapes in the Tropic

Below are photos of Green Grapes growing in the hot tropical land of Borneo. There are at least four kinds of green grapes, namely, Calmeria, Perlette, Sugarone and Superior Seedless (Menindee Seedless). I'm not sure which species the green grapes on the photo is.

Whatever it is, it pretty amazing to actually see grapes grown in humid and sunny places. The green grapes in this post are grown in a nursery of Borneo Highlands Resort, more than 3,000 feet above sea level.


Green grapes in the tropic


Green grapes in the tropic