10

2: Edible fruits and nuts

Carissa carandas L.

APOCYNACEAE

Carissa congesta Wight.

Karanda, karaunda, Bengal currant (En). Indonesia: karandan (Java), senggaritan (Timor). Malaysia: kerenda, kerandang, berenda. Philippines: karanda, caramba, perunkila. Thailand: naam daeng (Bangkok), manaao ho (peninsular), naam khee haet (Chiang Mai). Vietnam: cây sirô.

Native and cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Peninsular Malaysia. Introduced and naturalized in Indonesia and the Philippines. Widely cultivated also in Thailand, Indo-China and East Africa.

The fruits are eaten raw or stewed with sugar; also used to make beverages, curries, tarts, jellies and puddings. Plants are suitable for hedging. Medicinally the fruits are used as an astringent, antiscorbutic and as a remedy for biliousness; a leaf decoction is used against fever, diarrhoea, earache; the roots serve as stomachic, vermifuge, remedy for itches, and insect repellent. The wood is hard and used to make small utensils.

Climbing shrub, usually 3-5 m tall, rich in white latex, branches with simple or branched sharp spines. Fruit a berry, in clusters of 3-10, globose to broad-ovoid, 1-2.5 cm long, dark purple to blackish. It is grown in full sun, in not too humid regions. Propagation usually by seed, vegetative propagation is difficult.

Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 Volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Mansfeld, R. & Schultze-Motel, J., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kuturpflanzen. 2nd ed. 4 Volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1998 pp.
Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems Inc., Winterville, N.C., USA. 503 pp.
Page, P.E. (Compiler), 1984. Tropical tree fruits for Australia. Queensland Department for Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia. 226 pp.

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen & T.G. van Lingen

Jansen, P.C.M., Jukema, J., Oyen, L.P.A. & van Lingen, T.G., 1991. Carissa carandas L.. In: Verheij, E.W.M. and Coronel, R.E. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 2: Edible fruits and nuts. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea