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14: Vegetable oils and fats

Parinari anamensis Hance

CHRYSOBALANACEAE

Parinarium albidum Craib, Parinari sumatranum Kurz.

Cambodia: thlok. Laos: phok. Thailand: ma-khlok (northern), pradong-luat (south-western), kathon lok (south-eastern). Vietnam: c[aa]y c[as]m.

Thailand, Indo-China. It is particularly common in Cambodia and southern Vietnam, rare in northern Vietnam. In north-east Thailand it is widely cultivated for its fruits.

The seed contains a drying oil which is used to coat silverware and paper umbrellas, to produce soap, as a binding material and to make paint, ink and lacquerware. The seed and the thin, sweet, outer fleshy layer of the fruit are edible and used as food in poor regions. The wood is hard and difficult to work but not resistant to insect attack. Trees with a reasonable bole length are used as timber for light and medium constructions under cover (wood is traded as 'merbatu').

A tree up to 30 m tall; bole up to 10 m long and 30—70 cm in diameter, often with buttresses, bark yellow when young, turning grey-brown; crown dense and roundish, young twigs with limp leaves drooping. Leaves arranged spirally, simple, coriaceous; stipules narrow; petiole about 1 cm long, usually with 2 small glands below the middle; blade broadly elliptical to oblong, 6—15 cm x 4—9 cm, largest near inflorescence, base truncate or rounded, margin entire, apex obtuse, rounded, acute or cuspidate, lateral veins 12—18 pairs, conspicuous in lower surface which is yellow-brown hairy (whitish in flush leaves). Inflorescence a terminal, pyramidal panicle, 8—15 cm long, densely yellow-brown pilose; flowers bisexual, sessile, white, fragrant; receptacle a short tube, 2—2.5 mm long, gibbose; calyx 5-lobed, 1.5 mm long; petals 5, 1.5 mm long, white; stamens 5—12 (fertile ones 8—10), unequal; ovary adnate to one side of the throat of the calyx, 2-locular, ovules 1 per locule, densely pilose, style as long as stamens. Fruit drupe-like with thin fleshy, edible exocarp, bony mesocarp and hard endocarp, subglobose to ellipsoid, 3—4 cm in diameter, covered by grey scabs, containing 1—2 seeds. Parinari anamensis is widespread in evergreen, mixed deciduous, and dry dipterocarp forest, up to 1500 m altitude. Flowering period is March—April, fruiting May—June, fruits remain on the tree until next flowering season. It is propagated by seed. The seed oil contains eleostearic acid which quickly polymerizes when subjected to ultraviolet radiation. Parinari anamensis needs protection in its natural distribution area because it is in danger of extinction danger due to over cutting. It much resembles Parinari sumatrana (Jack) Benth. which occurs in Sumatra and western Java and could be the same species.

[23] Chantharawong, P., 1986. Namman phuet phua chai nai uttasahakam [Proceedings of the National Forestry Conference] , 18—22 November 1985, Bangkok, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 105—118.
[42] Flora Malesiana (Various editors), 1950—. Many volumes. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht and Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
[43] Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam] (Various editors), 1960—. Many volumes. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
[67] Kostermans, A.J.G.H., 1965. A monograph of the genus Parinari Aubl. (Rosaceae — Chrysobalanoideae) in Asia and the Pacific region. Reinwardtia 7: 147—213.
[59] Jansen, P.C.M., Westphal, E. & Wulijarni-Soetjipto, N. (General editors), 1989—2002. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 19 volumes. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands (1989—1994)/ Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, the Netherlands (1995—2002).
[74] Luangjame, J., 1985. Pradong-luat [Parinari anamensis] . Khaosarnkaset phaktawan ok chiangnua [NEROA Newsletter] 14: 32—35.
[114] Smitinand, T. & Larsen, K. (Editors), 1970—. Flora of Thailand. Many volumes. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand.
[115] Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.

Taksin Artchawakom

Artchawakom, T., 2001. Parinari anamensis Hance. In: van der Vossen, H.A.M. and Umali, B.E. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 14: Vegetable oils and fats. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea