Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Pisonia umbellifera

Edible: Leaves

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5-15 m high. The trunk is 30 cm across. It is branched near the base. The leaves are alternate or opposite and in clusters. The leaf blade is oval and 6-20 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. They are soft. The leaf stalk is 2-5 cm long. The flowers are small and very fragrant. They contain both sexes. The fruit are 2-5 cm long and have ribs. They are sticky.

A tropical plant. It grows in rainforest and monsoon forest. In Fiji it grows from sea level to 825 m altitude. It can grow in exposed coastal strips or in forest. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.

Common Names: Bird lime tree, Biru, Bison tan, Bugho, Kol banda, Kulbum, Maluko, Ndainga, Papala, Parapara, Pohon gendala, Roro

Synonyms: 

Calpidia subnitens Heimerl;
Ceodes umbellifera J.R. & G. Forster;
Ceodes umbellata Forst.f.;
Pisonia alba Span.;
Pisonia excelsa Bl.;
Pisonia mooriana F. Muell.;
Pisonia viscosa Seem.;
Ceodes excelsa Skottsb.;
Ceodes umbellifera f. acuminata Heimerl;
Ceodes umbellifera var. acuminata Heimerl. ex J.W. Parham;