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Burmese grape (Baccaurea ramiflora Lour.)

Botanical Name : Baccaurea ramiflora Lour
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Genus: Baccaurea
Species: B. ramiflora
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Synonym : Baccaurea cauliflora Lour.,

Pierardia sapida Roxb.
Baccaurea sapida (Roxb.) Mull.Arg.
Baccaurea flaccida
Baccaurea propinqua Mull.Arg.
Baccaurea wrayi King ex Hook.f.
Baccaurea oxycarpa Gagnep.
Gatnaia annamica Gagnep.

Common Names :Lutco, Leteku, Lotqua.

Other names:-
English: Burmese grape
Thai: mafai, mak fai pa, khi mi, sae khrua sae, somfai, hamkang, pha yio
Vietnamese: giâu gia ??t
Burmese: kanazo
Cambodian: phnhiew
Local names: Phu noi: cha chouay see
Indian : Le-te-ku
Bengali : Lotkon

Habitat : Burma (Myanmar), South China, India (Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Malaysian Peninsula, Vietnam, Laos (Khammouan and many other provinces ).

Description:
Small evergreen tree of more than 10 m. high, branches sympodially developed.  Leaves simple, alternate and spiral. Petiole swollen at base and top. Flowers unisexual cauliflorous. Fruit fleshy, orange to purple.
click to see the pictures
Leaves : Leaves simple, 9-25 by 3-9 cm. alternate and spirally-clustered at intervals along the twigs, narrowly elliptic or obovate, apex acuminate, base acute, margin entire or slightly undulate, reddish when young, finely brown-hairy, becoming dark green and shiny above and glabrous when mature. Midrib flat above, prominent below, secondary veins oblique to the midrib, widely parallel, looped and joined at margin, tertiary veins reticulate.
Petiole slender swollen at top and base.
Stipules caducous.

Inflorescences or flowers : Flowers small grouped in raceme, axillary to cauliflorous, males and females on different trees. Males smaller arranged in slender clusters of 10 cm. long, mostly at the end of the branches, individual flower with short pedicel. Female slightly bigger, racemes clustered of 30 cm. long on old branches and main trunk.

Fruits : The fruit is a berry of 2.5 – 3.5 cm. in diameter, ovoid or ellipsoid, hanging along old branches and main trunk, pale orange ripening reddish to purplish.
Seeds :  2-4 large seeds surrounded by a juicy translucent or pinkish pulp.

They are the oblate fruits hanging in big trees; from the bottom of the branches to the top of the trees. They are so large in number that they even bend the branches. Some are green, some are yellow and some are red, they look like balls engraved with jades or beads made of agates. The fruits have a succulent, sour and sweet taste.

Edible Uses:
1.The fruit is usually eaten fresh, poached or made into wine.
2.The seeds are edible as well.
3.Though it is most commonly cultivated in India and Malaysia, it is also found throughout Asia.
4.The trees are usually found at a low density.
5.The fruit is harvested and used locally.
6.This can be used in variety of colors as a tinned or a sweetened fruit topping.
7.Eating too many fruits makes your stomach get upset.
8.More often it is nurtured in home gardens and intercropped with fruits like durian, rambutan and mango.
9.The trees have a poor regeneration capacity.
10.The tree shows a good example for the fruits which grows directly from the main trunk.

Fruits can be kept fresh for 4–5 days, or boiled and mixed with salt after which it is keeps well closed jars. Marginal importance of the fruit, locally used and sold.

How to eat the fruit?
To consume the fruit first we have to break the fruit by peeling off the skin. After that the pulp can be eaten directly, mostly the seeds are also swallowed.

Nutritions in fruit:
Most of the fruit contain ascorbic acid, enzymes, bioflavonoids. The fruit is rich in minerals like chromium, potassium, and magnesium etc as well as B vitamins to amino acids. The largest amount of iron, 5.34 mg/100g was observed in Burmese-grape,

Medicinal Uses:
1)  It is used medicinally to treat skin diseases.
2)  The roots, bark and wood are harvested for medicinal uses.

Bark, roots and wood are dried and ground before boiling in water.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.


Resources:

http://www.biotik.org/laos/species/b/bacra/bacra_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_grape
http://www.fruitsinfo.com/burmese-grapes-tropical-fruit.php

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