Otaheite gooseberry
| Phyllanthus acidus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| fruits | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Phyllanthaceae |
| Tribe: | Phyllantheae |
| Subtribe: | Flueggeinae |
| Genus: | Phyllanthus |
| Species: | P. acidus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Phyllanthus distichus Müll.Arg. |
|
Phyllanthus distichus Müll.Arg.
Cicca acida Merr.
Cicca disticha L.
Averrhoa acida L.
Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, starberry, West India gooseberry, (in Bangladesh) Orboroi, grosella (in Puerto Rico), jimbilin (in Jamaica), damsel (in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada), karamay (in the Northern Philippines),layuan (in the Bicol region of the Philippines), (Rata nelli in Sri lanka) bangkiling (in the Southern Philippines), cermai (in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia), Goanbili (in Maldives), Sapra (in Belize) or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with edible small yellow berries fruit in the Phyllanthaceae family. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits. It is mostly cultivated for ornamentation.
The plant is an intermediary between shrubs and tree, reaching 2 to 9 m (6½ to 30 ft) high. The tree's dense and bushy crown is composed of thickish, tough main branches, at the end of which are clusters of deciduous, greenish, 15-to-30-cm long branchlets. The branchlets bear alternate leaves that are ovate or lanceolate in form, with short petioles and pointed ends. The leaves are 2-7.5 cm long and thin, they are green and smooth on the upperside and blue-green on the underside. In general, the Otaheite gooseberry tree very much looks like the bilimbi tree.
The flowers can be male, female or hermaphrodite. They are small and pinkish and appear in clusters in 5-to-12.5-cm long panicles. Flowers are formed at leafless parts of the main branches, at the upper part of the tree. The fruits are numerous, oblate, with 6 to 8 ribs, and densely clustered. They are pale yellow or white, waxy, crisp and juicy, and very sour. 4 to 6 seeds are contained in a stone at the center of each fruit.
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Wikipedia