Flacourtia rukam Zoll. & Moritzi

Small tree, 5-15(-20) m; trunk and old branches usually crooked, gnarled and furrowed, branched near the base; when young with strong woody simple or branched thorns, up to 10 cm, on trunk and branches, but occasionally (cultivated forms) thornless, specially when old; bark brown to greyish, smooth, not flaky; ultimate branchlets shortly (hispid-)pilose, with numerous warty, rounded or broad-elliptic lenticels. Leaves ovate-oblong or elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, gradually tapered to the long, obtuse tip, rather broadly cuneate to rounded at the base, mostly puberulous at both sides on midrib and nerves, or entirely glabrous, mostly shining above, or dull on both sides, mature ones dark green above, pale green below, young ones shining rose-red or brown, flaccid, drooping, always brown when dry, bitter, rather coarsely toothed, (6½-)10-l 5(-18) by (3-)4-7(-9) cm; midrib and nerves little prominent, but sometimes markedly impressed above, prominent beneath, nerves 5-7(-8-10-12) pairs, curved-ascending, little or distinctly anastomosing, veins ± transverse and distinct, reticulations rather dense and mostly somewhat elevated; petiole 5-8 mm, glabrous or mostly subferrugineous-puberulous. Flowers greenish-yellow, scentless, in few-flowered, short, axillary, finely pubescent racemes. Bracts oblong-ovate, 1 mm. Pedicels 3-4 mm. Sepals (3-)4(-6), ovate-acuminate, 2 mm diam., laxly pubescent on both surfaces. ♂ Flowers: disk-lobes 8, fleshy, orange to yellow-white; stamens numerous; filaments glabrous 3-4 mm; anthers very small, yellow. ♀ Flowers: stamens mostly none, but sometimes present, then mostly reduced in size (staminodes), very rarely normally developed. Ovary flask-shaped, with 4-6(-8) free, suberect styles with a small, indistinctly bilobed stigma. Fruit globose to depressed-globose or a little obovate, 2-2.5 cm diam., 4-7-sulcate or-angular when dry, 5-8 mm peduncled, light-green to pink or purplish-green to dark-red, with whitish pulp, crowned by the 4-6(-8), small, peg-like spaced styles set in a circle.

A tropical plant. It grows in humid tropical conditions. It can grow in shade as well as full sun. They occur in Benguet to the southern parts of the islands of the Philippines. Trees occur in tall lowland rainforest. They probably grow from sea level up to about 1600 m in Papua New Guinea. In Samoa it grows from 50 to 550 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan.

Uses. Cultivated for its edible fruits, good for making jams and pies. The fruit is rather variable in shape, size, and colour. The ripe fruit from cultivated specimens is acid and adstringent, but rubbing it between the hands bruises the flesh and causes a chemical change to take place, which renders it sweet and palatable. Wild forms have smaller, very sour and bitterly tasting fruits. Propagated by root-suckers which are abundantly produced.In the Philippines the roots are medicinal, and their decoction is given internally to women after childbirth. The adstringent juice of the young fruit is given for diarrhoea and dysentery, also for dysmenorrhoea. The juice of the leaves is applied to inflamed eye-lids.The wood is very hard, occasionally (Philippines) made into pestles or shafts.

Trees are mostly self sown. They grow from seed. Seed germinate quickly and easily. Trees can be grown from seed or root suckers. Root suckers are commonly produced. Fruit are made sweeter by rubbing them after harvest. Trees can also be budded or grafted. Trees are spaced 8-12 m apart.