World Agroforestry Center, ICRAF
Tree Functional Attributes and Ecological Database
Muntingia
calabura L.
Family:
Elaeocarpaceae
Botanic
Description
Small
evergreen tree, 3-12 m tall, growing and flowering continuously on
fan-like branches; mainline branches becoming erect after leaf fall and
so in turn contributing to the formation of the trunk (Troll's
architectural model). Branches horizontal, pendent towards the tip,
soft-hairy. Leaves simple, ovate-lanceolate, 4-14 cm x 1-4 cm, with
prominent asymmetry of the leaf blade base; leaf margin serrate, lower
leaf surface greyish pubescent. Flowers in 1-3(-5)-flowered
supra-axillary fascicles, hermaphrodite, pentamerous with white petals;
number of stamens increasing from 10-25 in the first emerging flower in
the fascicle to more than 100 in the last; development of the superior
ovary declining in the same order, so that from the third and later,
flowers do not normally set fruit. Fruit a dull-red berry, 15 mm in
diameter, with several thousand tiny seeds in the soft pulp.
Biology
Inflorescences are initiated by the growing shoot along with the
subtending leaf, and develop along with this leaf, the fruit maturing
shortly before the leaf falls. The flower fascicle is inserted
supra-axillary, up to halfway along the internode. In the axil proper
of the same leaves, side shoots are formed; these emerge before the
inflorescence flowers, but extension growth is delayed until after the
abscission of the subtending leaf. Under favourable conditions
flowering fascicles are formed with every third leaf, but this may be
delayed until the 5th, 7th or 9th leaf or indefinitely. Side shoots are
spaced further apart, but like the fascicles, they normally alternate
along the branch. Thus growth and development are neatly structured at
the shoot level, in a system which allows continuous extension growth
and fruit production. Flexibility is afforded by varying the spacing of
the fascicles, the number of flowers per fascicle and the sex
expression of each flower. The flowers open just before dawn and last
for only a day; bees are the main pollinators. The species is
self-compatible and intensive pollination is needed to reach the normal
number of several thousand seeds per fruit. The flowers in a fascicle
open sequentially at intervals ranging from 4-9 days. Within 2 weeks
from the opening of the last flower, the first flower of the following
fascicle may already reach bloom. A series of remarkable pedicel
movements lifts each flower bud above the plane of the plagiotropic
shoot just before anthesis and turns the flower to a pendent position
within 2 days from fruit set. Thus the flowers are conspicuous to
pollinators and segregated from the concealed fruit. This favours bats
as the main dispersers of the seed and reduces the likelihood of the
bats damaging the flowers. The fruit ripens in 6-8 weeks from anthesis
and the life span of the mature leaf is only slightly longer.
Soil
Suitability
The preferred pH is 5.5-6.5; salt tolerance is poor.
Habitat
Capulin is a typical pioneer species, colonizing disturbed sites in
tropical lowlands which can sustain continuous growth. In South-East
Asia it is one of the most common roadside trees, especially in the
drier parts such as in eastern Java. It establishes itself in trodden
yards and along shop fronts where no other tree takes root. The
preferred pH is 5.5-6.5; salt tolerance is poor.
Cultivation
and Marketing
Propagation
The tree is not normally cultivated, it spreads spontaneously. Fresh
seed germination is enhanced by passage through the digestive tract of
bats. The seed is well-represented in the seed banks of forest soils
and requires the high temperature and light conditions of large gaps in
the forest for germination; the seedlings do not tolerate shade.
Management
Seedlings flower within two years. Air layers made for home gardens
fruit straight away. Rich moist soils ensure continuous production
which is sustained by replacement pruning.
Pest
No serious diseases or pests have been reported, apart from bats.
Uses and
Function
Shade or shelter: The tree serves as a roadside shade tree.
Food: School children compete with bats and birds for the sweet
berries, which can also be preserved, as indicated by the Sri Lankan
name 'jam fruit'.
Medicine: Old sources in the Philippines mention the use of flowers to
prepare an infusion against headaches, colds, etc.
The pliable bark can be used as rough cordage.
Timber: The wood is soft and is valued mostly as fuel.
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