Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Maclura cochinchinensis

Edible: Fruit, Leaves

A thorny climbing shrub. It grows 4-10 m long. It has cane like twigs. It forms thickets. It can be erect or spreading. It has spines which are curved. They are about 1 cm thick. The leaves are alternate and oblong. The base is wedge shaped and it tapers to a short tip. They are 7-15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 6-10 mm long. They are leathery. Broken leaves and twigs ooze milky sap. The male and female flowers are separate on separate plants. The male flowers are 6-10 mm wide. The female flowers are hairy. The fruit is a composite round fruit 2-5 cm across. It has a pattern of squares over the surface and is green but turns yellow-orange when mature. They are hairy. The fruit are edible. There are several very small seeds inside.

A tropical plant. It grows in the forest. It can grow on coral soil. In Papua New Guinea it grows from sea level to 1600 m altitude. In Nepal it grows between 600-1200 m altitude. It grows on the outer edge of the forest. It grows near villages in S China. It can be in mangrove forest. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Common Names: Cockspur thorn, Amali, Bapou chuni, China maclur, Damaru, Damru, Gou ji, Kamgu, Kangu, Ke le, Kederang, Khmea, Kuderang, Manda, Mangei, Peinne-nwe, Pulikait, Tegerang, Tekum esing, U-sia-kiang

Synonyms: 

Cudrania cochinchinensis (Lour.) Kudo & Masamune;
Cudrania javanensis Trec.;
Maclura javanica Bl.;
Vaniera cochinchinensis Lour.;
and several others