Skip to main content

Sawo kecik (Manilkara kauki)

Dlium Sawo kecik (Manilkara kauki)

Sawo kecik (Manilkara kauki) is a species in the Sapotaceae family; it is a tall tree reaching up to 30 meters in height with a trunk diameter of up to 100 cm. The trunk features thick buttresses rising up to 1.5 meters, and the bark is fissured and grooved. Young trees are typically straight, though they may sometimes be crooked or branched.

M. kauki has thin bark and yellowish-white wood. Mature trees exhibit low branching; the clear bole (branch-free trunk section) averages 8–10 meters in height, with bark thickness of 0.5–2 cm and a diameter of 30–100 cm.

The leaves are simple and clustered at the tips of the twigs; they are obovate (inverted egg-shaped) to broadly elliptic, measuring 5–15 cm in length and 3–8 cm in width. The upper surface is smooth, dark green, and glossy. The lower surface is covered in fine, velvety hairs and is grayish-brown; the base is tapered, while the apex is rounded to slightly notched. The midrib protrudes on the underside, and there are 9–30 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf stalk (petiole) is 1.3–3.7 cm long.

Flowers appear in the leaf axils, clustered in groups of 1–3. The sepals are arranged in two whorls of three; they are triangular or pointed-ovate, yellowish-white with pinkish spots, with a flower diameter of 1 cm and a length of 4–7 cm. The corolla tube is short, and there are six stamens attached at the throat.

The ovary contains 1–6 locules (chambers). The fruit is ovoid or elliptical, measuring 2–3 cm in length. The fruit is edible—sweet yet slightly astringent—and not very juicy. Young fruit is green, turning yellow, orange, or reddish as it matures. The fruit contains 1–6 seeds (typically 2–3) that are glossy, measuring 2 cm in length, 1 cm in width, and 0.75 cm in thickness.

The wood is used for house construction—particularly for posts—due to its pest resistance, durability, and strength; it is also used for handicrafts and sculptures. The wood is resistant to friction, durable, and strong, featuring a straight grain and a fine texture.

The fruit contains carbohydrates, protein, fat, dietary fiber, vitamins C, A, and B1, as well as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It is generally consumed fresh and processed into juice, jam, syrup, candied fruit, and dessert ingredients.

The fruit helps lower cholesterol levels, maintain blood pressure, promote digestion and regular bowel movements, treat diarrhea, reduce bad breath, smooth the skin, prevent acne, slow down aging, and soothe bites from venomous animals.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Manilkara Adans. in Fam. Pl. 2: 166 (1763)
Species: Manilkara kauki (L.) Dubard in Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, sér. 3, 3: 9 (1915)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Kaukenia kauki (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 406 (1891)
Mimusops kauki L. in Sp. Pl.: 349 (1753)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Achras mammosa Sieber ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 204 (1844)
Imbricaria malabarica Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl. 4: 434 (1798)
Mimusops bojeri A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 205 (1844)
Mimusops browniana (A.DC.) Benth. in Fl. Austral. 4: 285 (1868)
Mimusops elengi Bojer in Hortus Maurit.: 198 (1837)
Mimusops hookeri A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 204 (1844)
Mimusops kauki Bojer in Hortus Maurit.: 198 (1837)
Mimusops kauki var. browniana A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 203 (1844)
Mimusops manilkara G.Don in Gen. Hist. 4: 35 (1837)

PUBLICATIONS

Armstrong, K.E. (2013). A revision of the Asian-Pacific species of Manilkara (Sapotaceae). Edinburgh Journal of Botany 70: 7-56.

Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Pennington, D. (2001 publ. 2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae: 1-364. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Jessup, L.W. (2019). A taxonomic revision of Sapotaceae for mainland Australia. Austrobaileya 10: 321-382.

Santisuk, T. & Balslev, H. (eds.) (2014). Flora of Thailand 11(4): 499-666. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.

Whitmore, T.C. (ed.) (1972). Tree Flora of Malaya 1: 1-471. Longman Malaysia, Petaling Jaya.

VERNACULAR NAME

Australia: Wongi
Bali: Sabo
Chinese (simplified): 凹叶人心果
Chinese (traditional): 凹葉人心果
English: Sawo kecik
Indonesian: Sawo kecik, Sawo jawa
Java: Sawo kacik, Sawo kayu
Malaysia: Sawah, Sawai, Sawau
PNG: Sner
Thai: ละมุดสีดา

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Awar awar (Ficus septica)

Awar-awar or lagnob or hauli tree or barabar or sirih popar or tobo tobo ( Ficus septica ) is species of plants in Moraceae, trees grow in bushes or in neglected places and sap contained in roots, twigs, leaves and fruit is used to treat poisoning and digestive problems. F. septica is usually 1-5 m high, although in the forest it can be up to 25 m. Round, hollow and bare branches. Roots, twigs, leaves and fruit will emit a yellow sap and sticky if injured. The base of the leaves is large and spiky, arranged alternately or face to face with a stem length of 2.5-5 cm. Large leaf blade, round egg, 9-30x9-16 cm, rounded base and blunt narrow tip, flat-edged, upper side dark green with 6-12 secondary bones pale white. Fruit paired, single or clustered up to 4 items, short-stemmed, at the base has 3 protective leaves, light green or gray green and 1.5 cm in diameter. F. septica is food for 22 animal species including wasps, bats, birds, monkeys and mice as well as seed dispersing vecto...
Post a Comment
Read more