Synonyms

Enallagma latifolia

Systematic Position

Kingdom:  Plantae

Phylum: Anthophyta

Order: Scrophulariales

Family: Bignoniaceae

Native: Brazil

Common Names

English – Black Calabash

Malayalam –

Description: This plant species is an evergreen tree with a narrow, moderately dense crown; it grows up to 10 – 15m tall. The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its timber and edible fruit. The green, ovoid fruits are up to 16cm long by 9cm in diameter, containing a white fleshy pulp that surrounds several black seeds each 3cm in diameter.

Habitat:  Urban coastalscapes, It likes to grow in damp, shady places.

Distribution: Tropical Asia and reaching the Himalayas and southern China.

Uses: The white pulp of the fruit, and the seeds, are edible.