Dillenia philippinensis (katmon) is a favorite tree among Filipino garden enthusiasts. It is endemic to the Philippines[rx] and can be used for urban greening. Its fruit is known as the elephant apple. Katmon grows in low to medium altitude forests throughout the Philippines but does not survive the cold climates of the uplands.
Katmon is featured on the reverse side of the Philippine twenty-five centavo coin since 2018 as part of the New Generation Currency Coin Series.[rx]
Katmon is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows as high as 10 to 15 meters. Its trunk is erect and the branches usually start midway through the trunk. The tree is buttress-forming, evergreen, and shade tolerant. The bark is smooth with shallow fissures. The leaves are leathery, shining, ovate, elliptic, or oblong-ovate, about 12 to 25 centimeters long, and coarsely toothed at the margins. Its flowers are white, large, showy, and about 15 centimeters in diameter with reddish pistils and stamens. The edible fruits are rounded, about six to eight centimeters in diameter, with large fleshy sepals tightly enclosing the true fruit.
| The Katmon Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Katmon |
| Scientific Name: | Dillenia philippinensis |
| Shapes | Globose, 5–6 cm across |
| Flesh colors | Green |
With its scientific name Dillenia philippinensis, this plant is also known as Katmon, Philippine Dillenia, and Elephant apple. It is native to the Philippines and used for urban greening. It can be found on Babuyan Islands, Polillo, Luzon, Mindoro, Leyte, Masbate, Guimaras, Negros Island, Cebu and Basilan. It grows in low to medium altitude forests throughout the Philippines but does not survive in cold climates of uplands. This evergreen tree grows 15 meters high. The trunk is erect and the bark is smooth. Leaves are shiny, leathery, and oblong about 12-25 centimeters long. Flowers are large, showy, white, and about 15 centimeters in diameter with reddish pistils and stamens. The corolla is formed by 5 white obovate petals, ephemeral, 4-6 cm long, and 2-5 cm broad which surrounds two distinct rings of stamina, outer ones are numerous, stretched about 1 cm long and red upper half and yellow in the lower one. Fruits are round about 6-8 centimeters in diameter with large fleshy sepals which tightly enclose true fruit.
Facts About Katmon
| Name | The Katmon |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Dillenia philippinensis |
| Native | The Philippines – it is endemic to the Babuyan islands and Sulu archipelago |
| Common/English Name | Katmon, Philippine Dillenia, Elephant apple |
| Name in Other Languages | Philippines: Kalambok, Kalambug (Bagobo), Katmon (Bikol), Katmon (Bisaya), Balale, Palali (Ibanag), Palali (Iloko), Bihis, Biskan (Igorot), Kalamnugui (Lanao), Palali, Pamamalien (Pangsingan), Bolobayauak (Panay- Bisaya), Katmon (Pampanga n), Diangin (Sambali), Kambug (Sulu), Palali (Subanum), Katmon (Tagalog); English: Elephant Apple, Hondapara Tree, Indian common, Ma-tad; Hindi: Chalta, Karambel; Sanskrit: Avartaki; Assamese: Outenga; Bengali: Chalta, Chalita |
| Plant Growth Habit | Small to medium-sized, evergreen tree |
| Plant Size | 6 to 15 meters |
| Bark | Greyish brown, smooth |
| Leaf | Elliptic, elliptic, or oblong-ovate, 12–25 cm long |
| Flower | White, large, showy, and about 15 cm across |
| Fruit shape & size | Globose, 5–6 cm across |
| Flesh color | Green |
| Seed | Brown blackish, 0.5 cm long, and 0.3 cm broad |
Katmon Scientific Classification
Scientific Name: Dillenia philippinensis
| Rank | Scientific Name & (Common Name) |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Plantae (Plants) |
| Subkingdom | Viridiplantae (Green plants) |
| Infrakingdom | Streptophyta (Land plants) |
| Superdivision | Embryophyta |
| Division | Tracheophyta (Vascular plants, tracheophytes) |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Subclass | Dilleniidae |
| Order | Dilleniales |
| Family | Dilleniaceae |
| Genus | Dillenia L. |
| Species | Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe (Philippine dillenia) |
| Synonyms |
|
Distribution
Katmon is found in the Philippines being common in forests of low and medium altitudes throughout the islands in primary and secondary forests. Native to the country, the tree is found in Babuyan islands, Luzon, Mindoro, Polillo, Masbate, Guimaras, Leyte, Negros, Cebu and Basilan.
Plant description
Katmon is a small to a medium-sized evergreen tree about 6-15 meters high with an erect to contorted bole with slight buttresses and smooth, greyish brown, and shallowly fissured bark. Leaves are elliptic, large, 12–25 cm long, thick, coriaceous, glabrous, and glossy green having serrated margins and prominently penni-veined. Flowers are large, white, showy, and about 15 cm across. Flowers are five pale green cup-shaped sepals, five obovate and spreading white petals. Outer stamens are shorter, slightly spreading, and form a basket-like structure. They are dark red with white tips in the upper half of the length and yellow in the basal half. Stamens have short stout filaments and long anthers. Carpels have separate firm radiating stylar branches with a small concave stigma at the tip. Fruit is globose, 5-6 cm across made up of fleshy, imbricate, and thin sepals which encloses syncarpous aggregate of carpels. Each carpel contains 1 to 5 small brownish-black seeds embedded in a soft and gelatinous pulp.
Traditional uses
- Mix the fruit with sugar or the fruit decoction is used as a cure for cough.
- It is also used for cleansing hair.
- In Sabah, the paste of pounded young leaves or stem bark is applied on wounds and swellings.
- Bark and leaves are used as astringent and laxatives.
- Fruit is used to provide relief from abdominal pains.
- Take the juice of leaf and bark for treating cancer and diarrhea.
- In Thailand, the fruit pulp is used for washing hair.
- The fruit is used for treating dandruff and hair fall.
Culinary uses
- Use the fruits, flowers, and young shoots as a flavoring for sour fish soup.
- Ripe fruits are also consumed fresh.
- It could be used to prepare sauce and jams.
- Cook the fruits as vegetables.
References
