Volume 2 > Part 1 > Year 1970 > Page 21 > Oxalidaceae > Averrhoa

1. Averrhoa carambola L.wfo-0000557405

Sp. Pl.: 428. 1753; Edgew. & Hook.f., Fl. Br. Ind. 1: 439. 1874; Guillaumin in Fl. Gèn. I.-C. 1: 605. t. 65. f. 1–3. 1911; Ridl., Fl. Malay Penins. 1: 332. 1922; Craib, Fl. Siam. En. 1: 207. 1926; Knuth in Pflanzenr. 95: 417. 1930; Tardieu-Blot in Fl. Gèn. I.-C. Suppl.: 547. t. 66. f. 16. 1945; Back. & Bakh. f., Fl. Java 1: 247. 1963.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Tree up to 14 m; branches often drooping. Leaves 3–6-jugate, not crowded terminaly; rachis up to 20 cm; leaflets up to 10 by 4 cm, glabrescent, glaucous beneath, lowest not reflexed. Panicles axillary, rarely some ramiflorous, up to 7 cm. Pedicels 3–6 mm, articulated below the flower. Petals up to 8 by 2 mm, coherent above the claw, inside with minute septate-glandular hairs. Shorter stamens without anthers, often with swollen base. Ovules 3–5 per cell. Berry up to 12.5 by 6 cm, stellate in cross-section. Aril present, bilabiate, enclosing the seed.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Chaing Mai, Nan (Doi Phu Kha); SOUTH-EASTERN: Trat (Leam Dan); CENTRAL: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok).

Distribution : Native country unknown (central and E Java?) (type from Ceylon), often cultivated, escaping freely, often a relic of former cultivation.

Ecology : At low altitudes, along rivers in ravines, in primary and secondary forests.

Vernacular : Ma fueang (มะเฟือง).

Uses: The fruits are eaten fresh or pickled. Leaves and fruits are said to be good against fevers, aptha, angina, chicken-pox, ringworm, headaches, scurvy, dysentery, piles, and affections of skin and eyes; they excite the appetite, but may cause vomiting. It is antiphlogistic and a sialogogue. The fruit removes stains from laundry, hands, and weapons.