Purut

Where does Purut grow?

Found in: Asia, Brunei, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Thailand

Notes: Pakal Parartocarpus venenosusWhat is the plant like?This is quite a large tree up to 25 metres or more tall. It has milky sap inside.The leaves of the tree are entire on outline and they are arranged on a spiral around the stemThe leaf looks like this.The leaves are shiny on both surfaces. The veins are raised under the leaf and sunken on top. The leaf is lighter green underneath.The fruit is large and can be 14cm to 24cm across. It has an irregular shape. The fruit is brown and slightly rough on the outside and with yellow flesh inside. There are quite a few large seeds inside. The seeds are something like breadfruit.The seeds have a yellow layer over them and are white inside.The fruit hand from the branches similarly to breadfruit. As the fruit get ripe they give off as strong sweet smell. This helps people find the fruit in the bush. How are pakal trees grown?Often pakal trees just grow wild in the bush. Flying foxes eat the fruit and they spread the seeds around. Small trees are sometimes transplanted nearer to houses.Where do pakal trees grow?Pakal trees can grow from sea level up to about 1000 metres above sea level. Mostly they are near the sea and are more common on islands.In Papua New Guinea they mostly occur along the North Coast and on islands off the coast.Where did the name come from?Pakal is a Tok Ples name from one of the languages of Manus. It also has other Tok Ples names in other areas of PNG, but doesn’t have a common Tok Pisin name.The scientific name is Parartocarpus venenosus. The word parartocarpus means near or related to the breadfruit group of plants. Pakal or parartocarpus is a fruit tree like breadfruit or Kapaik.Tok ples names.Wodeo Is salangMadang yangManus pakalNew Ireland,Kalau situNew Ireland,Lamekot livuRabaul lapuaHow are pakal used?The yellow flesh inside the pakal fruit is eaten cooked. The flesh of the fruit is very dry and therefore it is necessary to have a drink of water afterwards.The seeds are poisonous at least when they are unripe. In some places the seeds are cooked and eaten, but only after they have been soaked in sea water for a few days.

Status: A minor edible fruit moderately common particularly on islands and peninsulas along the north coast of Papua New Guinea.

Growing Purut

Cultivation: It grows wild. It can be grown from seed. Seeds are distributed naturally by flying foxes.

Edible Uses: The seeds are eaten either raw or cooked. The ripe fruit is edible. They are very dry so a drink is needed with them. CAUTION The sap of the tree is often used as an arrow poison. The unripe seeds are poisonous.

Production: The fruit turns very brown on the outside and has a sweet smell when ripe. Fruit production is seasonal.

Nutrition Info

Purut Photos

References

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