Manilkara kauki

"Wongi" redirects here. For the group of Indigenous Australians, see Wangai.
Wongi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Manilkara
Species: M. kauki
Binomial name
Manilkara kauki
(L.) Dubard[1]
Synonyms

Mimusops kauki L. (basionym)[1][2][3]
Manilkara kaukii (lapsus)

Manilkara kauki is a plant in the subfamily Sapotoideae, and the tribe Sapoteae of the Sapotaceae family;[3] and is the type species for the genus Manilkara.[2] It occurs in tropical Asia from Indo-China (Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) to Malesia (Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea); and also in northern Queensland in Australia. In Java, the plant is called sawo kacik, and is associated with the royal Javanese ritual. Throughout the world it is known generally by the name caqui,[3] but in Australia it is called wongi.

Description

The leaves are rigid, blunt-tipped, dark-green on the upper leaf face, and pale and silky below. The edible, orange-red fruit is 3–4 cm long.[4]

Uses

For reforestation purposes, M. kauki is a useful graft stock for M. zapota, and parts of the plant are used in herbal medicine.[3] The fruit is reported to be very tasty, and is traditionally eaten by Torres Strait Islanders, who travel from island to island to harvest the crop.

References

  1. 1 2 Annales du Musée Coloniale de Marseille ser. 3, 3 1915 "Plant Name Details for Manilkara kauki" Check |url= value (help). Retrieved December 30, 2009. basionym: Sapotaceae Mimusops kauki L.
  2. 1 2 Species Plantarum 2 1753 "Plant Name Details for Mimusops kauki" Check |url= value (help). Retrieved December 30, 2009. Type Information: "Habitat in Zeylona." basionym of: Sapotaceae Manilkara kauki
  3. 1 2 3 4 GRIN (March 17, 2008). "Manilkara kauki information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
  4. Low, T. (1988). Wild Food Plants of Australia. ISBN 0-207-16930-6.


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