Baccaurea ramiflora (Burmese grape) is a slow growing evergreen tree in the Euphorbiaceae family, growing to 25 m, with a spreading crown and thin bark. It is found throughout Asia, most commonly cultivated in India and Malaysia. It grows in evergreen forests on a wide range of soils. The fruit is oval, colored yellowish, pinkish to bright red or purple, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter, glabrous, with 2-4 large purple-red seed, with white aril. The fruit is harvested and used locally, eaten as a fruit, stewed or made into wine; it is also used medicinally to treat skin diseases. The bark, roots and wood are harvested for medicinal uses. Its texture resembles a lychee fruit, but is less juicy and more fibrous. The yield varies between 20-25 kg per tree.
| Name | Burmese Grape |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Baccaurea ramiflora |
| Native | India (Assam), Burma, China (Yunnan, Hainan), Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Peninsular Malaysia. |
| Common/English Name | Latka, Burmese grape, Lutco, Leteku, Lotqua, Baccaurea, Lantern Tree, Mafai. |
| Name in Other Languages | Nepal : Kala Bogoti Vietnamese: Giau gia dat Italian: Uva di birmano Burmese: Kanazo Khmer : Phnhiew Russian: Бирманский виноград English: Burmese grape Malaysia : Pupor Thai: mafai Bengali : Lot-kon Hindi : Khattaphal Assamese : leteku Khasi : Sohramdieng Somalian：Da Diaoguai Dutch: Birmaanse druif Spanish: Uva birmana French: Raisin birmane Malay: Mafai Setambun German: Birmanische Traube Chinese : Mu Nai Guo Garo : Gasampe Bangladesh : Kusumtenga India : Leteku Cambodian: Phnhiew Indonesia : Tampoi Kuning Laotian : F’ai Thailand : Mafai Khmer: Phnkiew Laotian: Fai |
| Plant Growth Habit | Medium-sized, slow growing evergreen tree |
| Growing Climate | Prefers a position in full sun, succeeding also in light shade |
| Soil | Found on sandy and granite soils. Succeeds in a wide range of soils, in well-drained as well as wetter sites. |
| Plant Size | 15-25 m tall, 25-70 cm in diameter |
| Bark | Gray-brown bark |
| Trunk | Tressed trunk |
| Branchlets | Hispid branchlets |
| Leaf | Leaves with raised glands and borne on 3–8 cm, glabrous petiole with stipules 2.5–6 by 1–2.5 mm, caducous (to late caducous), glabrous to sparsely hairy outside. Lamina is obovate-oblong, oblanceolate, or oblong, 9–15 × 3–8 cm, papery, green adaxially, yellowish-green abaxially, glabrous on both surfaces, base cuneate, margin entire or shallowly repand, apex shortly acuminate to acute with 4–9 pairs lateral veins depressed above, raised below. |
| Flower | Small grouped in raceme, axillary to cauliflorous, males and females are 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. |
| Flowering Season | April-May |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Baccate berry, globose, ovoid to slightly pear-shaped, 2–3.7 × 1.4–3 cm, indehiscent, 3-celled. |
| Fruit Color | Start off green colored, but as they ripen, they can turn yellow, red or even deep purple. |
| Fruit Skin | Leathery rind |
| Flesh Color | White to pinkish white, translucent |
| Taste | Sour and sweet taste. |
| Seed | Several small, hard seeds, flat-elliptic or rotund, 1–1.3 cm with purplish red testa which are edible |
| Major Nutrition | Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 55 mg (61.11%) Iron, Fe 3.3 mg (41.25%) Carbohydrate 10.5 g (8.08%) Protein 0.7 g (1.40%) Total Fat (lipid) 0.3 g (0.86%) Calcium, Ca 2 mg (0.20%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in (100 gm) | 48 K cal |