Pisonia tree, Giant Pisonia, Lettuce tree
A tropical plant. They occur from Malaysia to Polynesia. It grows in coastal areas. It prefers moist well drained soils and open sunny positions. It is drought and frost tender. It often grows on coral islands and atolls. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.
Also known as:
Adaburrunigak'iy, Amumo, Bird catcher tree, Bird-killer Tree, Bo son, Chandu, Chemoi, Chinai salit, Grand devil's claw, Kanal, Kang feng tong, Kemudu, Kolis, Kottai, Kul banda, Lanchamundaku, Lechai, Lechchai kottai, Lhos gas, Mokh, Maluko, Mesbesibech, Moek, Moonlight tree, Mwaak, Mweek, Mwog, Niuli, Nyia nyime bu, Pani marawa, Pohon kol, Puak vai, Puatea, Pu'a vai, Puka, Rafarafa, Saeng-chan, Sulesoppu, Te buka, Thathava, Velati salet, Wata banga
Synonyms
- Ceodes grandis (R. Brown) D. Q. Lu
- Pisonia alba Spanoghe
- Pisonia morindifolia R. Br.
- Pisonia sylvestris Teijsm.
- Cordia olitoria Blanco
Edible Portion
- Leaves
Where does Pisonia tree grow?
Found in: American Samoa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Andamans, (Nicobar and Lacadives), British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, China, Christmas Island, Chuuk, East Africa, Fiji, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Phoenix Islands, Rotuma, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yap
Notes: There are about 50 Pisonia species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics. There are about 25 Ceodes species.
Growing Pisonia tree, Giant Pisonia, Lettuce tree
Cultivation: Trees can be grown from cuttings. Seeds can also be used. (Fruit ripen about July to October.) Fresh seed should be used. Birds also help scatter seed. These large sea birds mean the trees are often spread to very remote islands due to the sticky seeds.
Edible Uses: The young leaves are eaten cooked.
Production: Many of the leaves are succulent and edible.
Nutrition Info
per 100g edible portion| Edible Part | Energy (kcal) | Protein (g) | Iron (mg) | Vitamin A (ug) | Vitamin c (mg) | Zinc (mg) | % Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
Pisonia tree, Giant Pisonia, Lettuce tree Photos
References
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 462 (As Pisonia grandis)
Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 44 (As Pisonia grandis) (Also p 108 as Pisonia alba)
Ashton, M. S., et al 1997, A Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs of Sri Lanka. WHT Publications Ltd. pdf p 305 (As Pisonia grandis)
Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 324 (As Pisonia grandis)
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 804 (As Pisonia grandis)
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 1785 (As Pisonia alba)
Clarke, W.C. & Thaman, R.R., 1993, Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands: Systems for sustainability. United Nations University Press. New York. p 254 (As Pisonia grandis)
Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 375 (As Pisonia grandis)
Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 111 (As Pisonia grandis)
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 1053 (As Pisonia grandis)
Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1997, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 7. Lothian. p 333 (As Pisonia grandis)
Engel, D.H., & Phummai, S., 2000, A Field Guide to Tropical Plants of Asia. Timber Press. p 88 (As Pisonia alba)
Flora of Australia, Volume 4, Phytolaccaceae to Chenopodiaceae, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra (1984) p 18 (As Pisonia grandis)
Flora of China @ efloras.org Volume 5 as Ceodes grandis
Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org (As Pisonia grandis)
Franklin, J., Keppel, G., & Whistler, W., 2008, The vegetation and flora of Lakeba, Nayau and Aiwa Islands, Central Lau Group, Fiji. Micronesica 40(1/2): 169–225, 2008 (As Pisonia grandis)
French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 369 (As Pisonia grandis)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 501 (As Pisonia alba)
Henderson, C.P. and I.R.Hancock, 1988, A Guide to the Useful Plants of the Solomon Islands. Res. Dept. Min of Ag. & Lands. Honiara, Solomon Islands. p 118 (As Pisonia grandis)
Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A., and Seberg, O. 2007, Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. p 231 (As Pisonia grandis)
Karthi, Sathya, & Salome, 2014, Uncultivated Edible Greens from Small Millet Farms Tamil Nadu India. IDRC (As Pisonia alba)
Low, T., 1992, Bush Tucker. Australia’s Wild Food Harvest. Angus & Robertson. p 130 (As Pisonia grandis)
Lugod, G.C. and de Padua L.S., 1979, Wild Food Plants in the Philippines. Vol. 1. Univ. of Philippines Los Banos. p 58 (As Pisonia alba)
Lu De-quan, Nyctaginaceae. Flora of China (As Ceodes grandis)
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 208 (As Pisonia alba)
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 92 (As Pisonia grandis)
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 208 (As Pisonia sylvestris)
McClatchey, W. C., 2012, Wild food plants of Remote Oceania. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 81(4) 371-380 (As Pisonia grandis)
Ochse, J. J. et al, 1931, Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. Asher reprint. p 540 (As Pisonia sylvestris)
Prodr. 422. 1810 (As Pisonia grandis)
Selvam, V., 2007, Trees and shrubs of the Maldives. RAP Publication No. 2007/12 p 132 (As Pisonia grandis)
Singh, H.B., Arora R.K.,1978, Wild edible Plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. p 32 (As Pisonia grandis)
Smith, A.C., 1981, Flora Vitiensis Nova, Lawaii, Kuai, Hawaii, Volume 2 p 267 (As Pisonia grandis)
Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 434 (As Pisonia grandis)
Stemmerik, 1964, Nyctaginaceae, Flora Malesiana, Ser. 1 Vol. 6 (3) p 466 (As Pisonia grandis)
Sujanapal, P., & Sankaran, K. V., 2016, Common Plants of Maldives. FAO & Kerala FRI, p 209 (As Pisonia grandis)
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 454 (As Pisonia grandis)
Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 67 (As Pisonia alba)
Thaman, R. R., 1987, Plants of Kiribati: A listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 296 (As Pisonia grandis)
Thaman, R. R, 2016, The flora of Tuvalu. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 611. Smithsonian Institute p 103 (As Pisonia grandis)
The Pacific Islands Food Composition Tables http://www.fao.org/docrep No C101 (As Pisonia grandis)
Whistler, A. S., Edible vascular plants of the Line Islands. Pacific Health Dialog. Vol. 3 No. 2 (As Pisonia grandis)
Whistler, W. A., 1988, Ethnobotany of Tokelau: The Plants, Their Tokelau Names, and Their Uses. Economic Botany 42(2): 155-176 (As Pisonia grandis)
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
www.efloras.org Flora of China (As Pisonia grandis)
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Yuncker, T.G., 1959, Plants of Tonga, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Hawaii, Bulletin 220. p 110 (As Pisonia grandis)