KEMANG
(Mangifera kemanga)

A tree of kemang

Family: Anacardiaceae

Synonyms: Mangifera polycarpa

Kemang is another wild growing mango in the South East Asia.  This plant grows in abundance in Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.  This fruit, however, does not grow much in forest

Description:

A large evergreen tree, upto 30 m tall, and bole 50-80(-120) cm or more in diameter, crown dome-shaped with massive branches; bark greyish-brown, superficially fissured, containing irritant sap.

Leaves elliptic to lanceolate, more or less obovate, (7-)10-12(-30) cm x (3-)4-5.5(-10) cm, medium green and shiny above, paler below, often crowded at the end of stout branchlets, coriaceous, blunt or bluntly acuminate; midrib thick, flattened, raised abovet; petiole very short, leaves nearly sub-sessile, margins narrowly decurrent. .  

Leaves of a kemang tree

Panicle terminal, long, upto 75 cm long, containing fewer flowers; flowers 5-merous, pale lilac, fragrant; petals linear, up to 10 mm long, not strongly reflexed as in most other mango flowers, only slightly reflexed in the upper part; fertile stamen 1, filament 5 mm long, white at base, purple towards the apex, 4 teeth-like staminodes; disc narrow, stipe-like, 1-1.5 mm long, pale green; ovary obliquely globose, reddish brown, style excentric, 8 mm long, white, becoming violet after anthesis.  

Fruit an obovate-oblong drupe, necked at base, 12-15(-20) cm x 6-7(-12) cm; dull brown at maturity, gibbous at base and scurfy; pulp whitish, soft and juicy. 

Seed (stone) ellipsoid-lanceolate, ca. 7 cm x 3.5-4 cm, not flattened, thin-walled, endocarp not woody, made of matted coarse fibres, monoembryonic.

Utilization:

Ripe fruits of kemang fruit is eaten fresh.  These are also utilized for making juice at homes.

Kemang fruit and seed

Unripe fruits are used to make a dish called “rujak”.  For making rujak, sliced green fruit are covered with a spicy sauce. Occasionally a dish is made from fresh, grated seeds, with fermented soya beans and spices.

Tender young leaves of kemang are used as a leafy vegetable.

Cultivation:

Kemang grows wild only.  There can, however, be seen isolated trees planted or protected at farms or common lands.  The trees can planted and maintained like other mango relatives,