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Food - Ripe fruits are consumed fresh. Medicine - Ayurveda has two varieties based on the color of flower: Shwet (white) and Rakta (red). It is used in treating wounds, musculoskeletal disorder, pessary in discharges of vagina, disease of oral cavity.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal
Commonly found in forests. It prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate cold temperatures at altitudes of 1200-2300 m asl.
A popular wild edible tree species; its berries are used in traditional Chinese winemaking. Is believed to boost immunity.
Grows as a medium-sized evergreen tree, reaching 6-8 m tall with slender, often drooping branches.
Bark is soft and brittle.
Leaf blade narrowly elliptic-obovate or lanceolate-obovate to cuneate-obovate, 4-18 × 1.5-4.5 cm, leathery, abaxially pale green, dark punctate, occasionally sparsely golden glandular, adaxially dark green, rarely glandular, pubescent along midvein, base cuneate, margin entire or sometimes serrate in apical 1/2, apex obtuse to acute.
Female flowers are very small, stalkless, solitary and bracteate, sepals and petals, either absent or not visible. Inflorescence is a catkin, 4.2 cm long, axillary, bearing about 25 flowers; only a thread-like style visible with the unaided eye. Each male flower has about 12 stamens, each with a very short filament; inflorescence is a compound raceme, about 3.5 cm long.
Fruit is a spherical, succulent drupe, with a hard seed; diameter 1.1 to 1.3 cm.
Flowering: March
Fruiting: July