Willughbeia sarawacensis, commonly known as kubal or Kubal madu (Malaysia) and tabo (Philippines), is a large tropical vine-bearing plant with edible fruit native to Borneo and to the nearby Island of Palawan in the Philippines.[2] The fruit is the shape, size, and color of a grapefruit with a thin melon-like rind and have a concentrated sweet taste comparable to mango, soursop, and pineapple combined. At the government experiment station near Kuching, Sarawak they are grown on elevated platforms and said to start producing in less than two years. Currently there are 4 related species known in Borneo: Kubal Asam or Kubal Taya, Kubal tusu or Kubal madu, kubal arang (all fall under willughbeia sarawakensis), and another much bigger cousin tabau ( willughbeia elimeri). All four are round shape except kubal tusu, which is a pear shape.
Kubal arang ( charcoal) got it distinctive charcoal color seed.
| Kubal Madu Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kubal Madu |
| Scientific Name: | Willughbeia Angustifolia |
| Origin | Nicobar Island to Malesia. It is commonly found wild in Borneo (Brunei, Sarawak, Sabah and Indonesian Kalimantan). |
| Colors | Golden yellow to orangey-yellow |
| Shapes | Fleshy berry, globose, 1.9-14 by 1.9-14 cm |
Kubal Madu is a vigorous climbing shrub that produces woody stems upto 60 meters long. Stems climb to the top of the trees in forests. Woody shoots attach themselves to other plants by hooked, leafless branchlets. It is a perennial, evergreen woody climber having branches bearing tendrils formed from modified inflorescences. Leaves are opposite and distichous on short petioles. Flowers are yellowish-white, pentamerous, and actinomorphic. Fruit is a globose, fleshy berry, golden yellow to orangey-yellow and indehiscent. Seeds are smooth, ovoid having thin endosperm and thick horny cotyledons, and embedded in mucilaginous orangey-yellow pulp.
Culinary uses
- The pulp of ripe fruit is consumed raw.
- Make the juice from ripe fruit.
References
