Atuna racemosa
| Atuna racemosa | |
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| Flowers of Atuna racemosa from Tonga, where it is known as the pipi tree | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Chrysobalanaceae |
| Genus: | Atuna |
| Species: | A. racemosa |
| Binomial name | |
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Atuna racemosa Raf. |
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| Subspecies | |
| Synonyms | |
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List
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A. racemosa subsp. excelsa A. racemosa subsp. racemosa
Atuna racemosa is a tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. The specific epithet is from the Latin meaning "clustered", referring to the inflorescence.
Atuna racemosa grows up to 35 metres (110 ft) tall. The smooth bark is grey to black. The flowers are blue or white. The fruits are ellipsoid, roundish or pear-shaped and measure up to 7.5 cm (3 in) long.
Atuna racemosa is found widely in Thailand, Malesia and the South Pacific islands of Oceania. Its habitat is mixed dipterocarp forests, also in swamps and along rivers, from sea-level to 750 metres (2,500 ft) altitude.
The fruit is made into a putty for sealing canoes in the Pacific islands. Oil from the seeds is used as a scent. Leaves are used as thatch in Fiji.
In the Philippines, where the tree is known as tabon-tabon, juice from the grated flesh of the fruits are used to neutralize the fishy taste and the acidity of the raw seafood dish kinilaw. The remains of halved tabon-tabon fruits alonside cut fish bones have been recovered from the Balangay archeological excavation site in Butuan (dated c. 10th to 13th century AD) indicating that this cooking practice is at least a thousand years old.
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Wikipedia