Gnetum gnemon L.,
Mant. 1 (1767)
Latin for 'Ganemu', the local Moluccan name for this species.
Synonyms
Gnemon domestica Rumph., Gnemon silvestris Rumph., Gnetum
acutatum Miq., Gnetum brunonianum Griff., Gnetum gnemon var.
domesticum MGF, Gnetum gnemon var. laurinum Blume, Gnetum
gnemon var. lucidum Blume, Gnetum gnemon var. majusculum
Blume, Gnetum gnemon var. stipitatum MGF, Gnetum gnemon var.
sylvestris Parl., Gnetum gnemon var. volubile MGF, Gnetum
griffithii Parl., Gnetum ovalifolium Poir., Gnetum silvestris
Brongn., Gnetum vinosum Elm.
Description
Shrub to 10 m tall and 17 cm dbh. Stipules absent. Leaves opposite, simple,
penni-veined, glabrous, secondary veins conspicuously looping. Flowers ca. 2 mm
diameter, yellowish, placed in short racemes. Fruits ca. 20 mm long, yellow-red,
drupe.
Ecology
In undisturbed mixed dipterocarp forests up to 300 m altitude. Mostly on
hillsides and ridges with clay to sandy soils. In secondary forests usually
present as a pre-disturbance remnant tree, however, often cultivated for the
fruit.
Uses
The young leaves and inflorescences are used as vegetable. The fruit is used
to make a kind of 'krupuk' called 'emping'.
Distribution
From India, Burma and Indo-China to New Guinea and the West-Pacific. In
Borneo collected in Sarawak, Sabah, West-, Central- and East-Kalimantan.
Local names in Borneo
Sabong.
