Kembayau/Canarium odontophyllum is a fruit-bearing tree of the genus Canarium in the family Burseraceae. It is a native of Borneo, where it is locally known as dabai in Sarawak and kumbaya in Sabah and Brunei. It grows up to a height of 40 to 50 meters. Its fruit is a prized seasonal delicacy in Sarawak. The outer skin is glossy black colour while the flesh is yellow with an elongated seed. The fruit is hard and inedible when ripe and must be soaked in warm water before eating. It tastes of avocado and is seasoned with salt or soy sauce.
Being in the same genus as the Pili nut (Canarium ovatum) the seeds are also edible, and similar to almonds or pistachios. [rx]
| Kembayau Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kembayau |
| Scientific Name: | Dacryodes rostrata |
| Origin | The species is found in Indo-China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, West-, Central- and East-Kalimantan) and the Philippines. |
| Colors | Yellow-brown to purplish black |
| Shapes | Ovoid to oblongoid |
| Flesh colors | Yellow |
Dacryodes rostrata is an evergreen tree usually growing 5 – 25 meters tall, but with some specimens up to 35 meters. The bole is usually 20 – 50 cm in diameter, occasionally to 120 cm. The tree is harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, timber, and resin. It is occasionally cultivated for its fruit. It grows widely in Vietnam and Western Malaysia. The habitat is mixed dipterocarp forest from sea level to 800 meters altitude.
This evergreen and perennial tree grow to the height of 40 meters with a 1-meter trunk diameter and low buttresses. Leaves are pinnate, alternate. Leaflets are papery; ovate-oblong with asymmetrical base, leaf apex is elongated and widened at the tip. Panicles are axillary which are combined into a terminal inflorescence. Flowers are small, three to numerous, yellowish-white, and 3 mm across. Male flowers have six stamens connate to the periphery of the disk. Female flowers have six staminodes. Fruit is ovoid to oblongoid and fleshy drupe which measures 2–4 cm × 1–2 cm and is yellow-brown to purplish-black which contains one hard seed. Branchlets are 4-10 mm thick, glabrous and lenticellate. Leaves are usually glabrous. Leaflets are ovate to oblong, rigid, glabrous, or pubescent underneath and about 3.5-20 by 1.5-10 cm. Flowers are tomentose and about 2-4 mm long. Stamens are distinctly longer in comparison to epipetalous ones sometimes all adnate to the disk. Male flowers have pistil which is strong to nearly entirely reduce. Fruits are slightly oblique, ovoid to oblong, and about 1.75-3.5 by 0.75-1.75 cm.
Culinary uses
Pulp is preserved in salt and fried as a dish.
References
