AgroForestryTree Database
Bouea macrophylla
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Species identity
TaxonomySynonym(s)
Common names
(Filipino) : gandaria
(Indonesian) : gandaria (Java, Sunda)
(Malay) : rembunia
(Thai) : somprang (Peninsula)
Botanic description
Tree, up to 27 m tall, with light brown fissured bark and often with pendulous, glabrous, angular or flattened branchlets. Leaves ovate-oblong to lanceolate or elliptic, (11-)14-30(-45) cm x (4-)5-8(-13) cm, decussate, simple, coriaceous, shining, entire, base acute to cuneate, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 1-2.5 cm long. Inflorescences axillary panicles, 4-12 cm long; flowers mostly tetramerous, small; calyx lobes broadly ovate; petals oblong to obovate, 1.5-2.5 mm x 1 mm, yellowish, soon turning brown. Fruit a drupe, subglobose, 2.5-5 cm diameter, yellow to orange, fleshy juicy consistency, glabrous, sour to sweet with a characteristic faint smell of turpentine. Based on the taste of the fruit several cultivars are recognized in Kalimantan. 'Hintalu' is a very sour cultivar, 'Ramania Pipit' and 'Ramania Tembaga' are sweet (with deep red flesh).
Ecology and distribution
History of cultivationGandaria is native to north Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and west Java, and is cultivated widely as a fruit tree in Sumatra, the wetter parts of Java, Borneo and Ambon, as well as Thailand (where it is locally important).
Natural Habitat
Gandaria is a tree of the humid tropics and thrives in light and fertile soil. It occurs naturally in lowland forests below 300 m altitude, but has been successfully cultivated up to elevations of about 850 m.
Gandaria is native to north Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and west Java, and is cultivated widely as a fruit tree in Sumatra, the wetter parts of Java, Borneo and Ambon, as well as Thailand (where it is locally important).
Biophysical limitsAltitude: Up to 850 m. Soil types: Gandaria thrives in light and fertile soil.
Reproductive Biology
Gandaria flowers from June-November and fruits from March-June in Indonesia.
Propagation and management
Propagation methodsGandaria is normally grown from seed but it can also be easily propagated through marcotting or grafting.Tree Management
Seedlings or clonally propagated plants are planted in rows at a spacing of 10 m x 12 m and need shading for several months. Boosting the growth rate in the early years with manure, urea and other fertilizers is recommended to shorten the vegetative period.
Functional uses
ProductsFood: Gandaria is a popular fruit tree with diminutive mango-like fruits. Although generally rather acid even when fully ripe, the fruit is much consumed fresh, cooked in syrup or made into an excellent compote. However, the use of the young fruits is more important; they serve as ingredient of a special kind of 'sambal', the chilli-based condiment, and in pickles ('asinan'), the bright purple cotyledons in the big seed adding to the attraction of the concoction. Occasionally the young leaves -which are deep violet, sometimes strikingly white when they emerge- are also consumed fresh, to be eaten with the gandaria-flavoured 'sambal'.Services
Shade or shelter: Gandaria is recommended for planting in transmigration areas in Sumatra because of its abundant fruit production and very dense foliage, making it an excellent shade tree.
Additional Information
PropertiesFood: The composition of a fruit sample from a single tree in Honduras per 100 g edible portion was: water 85 g, protein 112 mg, fat 40 mg, fibre 600 mg, ash 230 mg, calcium 6 mg, phosphorus 10.8 mg, iron 0.31 mg, carotene 0.043 mg, thiamine 0.031 mg, riboflavin 0.025 mg, niacin 0.286 mg and vitamin C 75 mg.
Trade
In Jakarta gandaria occasionally equals the best mangoes in price, especially when it is not peak season. A mature tree may produces as much as 200 kg fruit in one season, which fetched US$ 3/kg (about 50 fruits) in 1989.
Yields
Harvesting: Normally the first harvest from seedlings can be obtained 8-10 years after planting or after 5-6 years for vegetatively propagated plants.
Prospects
"Gandaria is a decorative shade tree, bearing fruit that can be very sweet, tasty and attractive; in addition to the use of the fruit in pickles and sambal, these properties make it a valuable home-garden tree. Thai firms advertise the fruit for export, suggesting prospects for wider commercialization."