Jump to content

Antidesma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 109.176.244.188 (talk) at 12:22, 10 September 2013. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Antidesma
Hame (Antidesma platyphyllum) - habit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Malpighiales
Family:
Phyllanthaceae
Tribe:
Antidesmeae
Subtribe:
Antidesminae
Genus:
Antidesma

Species

See Species section

Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the Phyllanthaceae. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 metres in height.It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimetres 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 Tropics. They have about 100 species and the highest number in South-East Asia. There are 18 species of Antidesma in Thailand.

Synonymy

The genus Antidesma is also known as several other names:

Description

The evergreen (sometimes deciduous) simple leaves 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 (leaf stalk) and stipules (appendage at the base of a leaf stalk).

The flowers grow in a raceme, with 1 bract 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, 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 stamens, but no pistils. The female flowers have 2 to 6 stigmas. They have a 1-locular ovary with 2 ovules.

The globose to ellipsoid fruits 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. Some individuals find Antidesma bunius berries to have a bitter taste. Those who detect this bitter taste cannot taste PTC, and similarly those who can taste PTC can not taste any bitterness in Antidesma bunius.[1]

Species

Here is a list of Antidesma species, with each species's distribution in parentheses:

Bignay
Hama (Antidesma platyphyllum) - ripe berries
Hama (Antidesma platyphyllum) - unripe fruits

References

  1. ^ Henkin, R.I> and W.T. Gillis. (1977). Divergent taste responsiveness to fruit of the tree Antidesma bunius Nature:265:536 - 537.
  2. ^ "Antidesma pulvinatum Hillebr". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Antidesma&oldid=572334552"