Woody > Inocarpus > Inocarpus fagifer > Inocarpus fagifer
Inocarpus fagifer
Origin: Inocarpus fagifer is native to Melanesian and South Pacific countries, such as: Java, Marquesas, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that Inocarpus fagifer most likely originated from eastern Malaysia, with its preferred climate being the tropics.
Mike's
Opinion
"
Inocarpus fagifer is a very attractive tropical evergreen plant with high ornamental value. With its abundant fruit ranging in colours from green, to orange, to red, to brown, the Inocarpus fagifer makes for a great ornamental shade tree for rural locations that include livestock. Though it holds preference to moist soil, Inocarpus fagifer is quite versatile and can grow in all kinds of soil compositions and can adapt to full sun to partial shade areas. Inocarpus fagifer is a great plant for many rural landscapes along riverbanks and streams, and especially for spaces with surrounding plants due to its beneficial and fortifying root system.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Fabaceae |
| Genus |
| Inocarpus |
| Species |
| fagifer |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (evergreen) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 10 - 12 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| Greater than 9a |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1a |
| Temperature (°C) |
| 20 - 34.2 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 68 - 94 |
| Height |
| 20 - 30 m |
| Spread |
| 4 - 6 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Inocarpus fagifer is a native evergreen tropical tree of the Fabaceae family, and is often found along riverbanks and waterfalls. Its common name, Tahitian chestnut, refers to its chestnut-like flavoured fruit. Inocarpus fagifer is often distinguishable in the tropics due to its bright and colourful abundant fruit, which can easily produce 75 kilos per year. It is the only edible member of the Inocarpus genus. |
| Landscape |
| Inocarpus fagifer is widely used in agroforestry in Polynesia and Melanesia, though originally it was mainly used as a food source. It is now currently known and sought after for its use as windbreaks, due to its tolerance to strong winds while resisting breakage. It's used as living fences and fence posts, as the wood is quite durable when used as poles in regards to keeping livestock protected. Furthermore it has general use as crop shade and overstory. Though most notably, the tree is vastly used for its soil stabilization due to the strong lateral roots produced which can help prevent rapid erosion along riverbanks. |
| Cultivation |
| The fruit can take up to 4 months to ripen, with seeds germinating within 7 days. After the fruit has been removed from its shell, the seed will rapidly change in colour as it loses its viability. Trees can produce 75 kilograms of fruit per annum after reaching 25 years of age. Inocarpus fagifer is capable of growing in a wide variety of soils, from highly calcareous and saline, to extremely waterlogged. It can easily grow in mild acidic to extremely alkaline coastal soils, with pH values reaching as high as 14. |
| Shape |
| Inocarpus fagifer is a large sized evergreen tropical tree with a dense canopy of foliage and an elongated, multi stemmed trunk. The tree can easily reach massive heights of 30 metres, easily dwarfing its surrounding inhabitants while providing an abundant resource in fruit. |
| Growth |
| Fast |
| ID Characteristic |
| The main two distinguishing characteristics of the Inocarpus fagifer are its elongated and dense lateral roots and bright coloured fruit, which grows in massive quantities each year. |
| Pests |
| Fruit flies are the main pest for this tree, as the fruit flies are known to lay eggs on immature fruits with the resulting larvae to feast on the surrounding fruits and flowers. This can be a major problem as the larvae will burrow into the fruit to eat at the kernel inside, leading to lower quality fruit production and lower marketable distribution. If a fruit fly infestation is too severe the kernel can be rendered completely inedible by human consumption. Asides from pests that go after their fruit, no major pest or disease affects mature foliage or bark. As of 2019 the tree ranks Least Concern on the Red List of Threatened Species. |
| Habitat |
| Inocarpus fagifer is found in the humid tropics around tropical and subtropical forests as well as wetlands. This tree thrives in moist lowlands and is typically found along rivers, streams, creeks, and waterfalls. Abundant in poorly drained areas, as of such the tree is not drought tolerant and thrives in excessive moisture with moderate water. Inocarpus fagifer prefers large volumes of water with wide ranges of soil, from mildly acidic to extremely alkaline. The tree prefers full sun to semi-shade and is abundant throughout the eastern Islands of Indonesia, Oceania, and Maluku. The species is much more common south of the Indonesia archipelago as opposed to the north. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Mature trunks have a diameter typically of 3 metres, but can also range upwards to 9 metres with a buttressed and fluted base. Branches form in a spiral formation, making a very dense canopy which is often used as crop shade. Bark greys with age, with new formation appearing brown in colour. The bark is very rough and flakey, with dense lateral roots which extend through the topsoil. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Flower buds are terminal and form an 1 - 17 cm long inflorescence in an axillary position. After flowers die off the fruit begins to form. Leaf buds start off small and pink in colour before turning yellow to dark green in correspondence to their increasing size. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves are simple, oblong, and alternating. Their sizes are typically between 16 - 40 cm in length and 7 - 20 cm in width. The petiole is thick, ranging from 0.5 cm - 2.5 cm in size, with yellow opposite leaf veins. When new the leaves are pink in colour, though when mature the leaves are dark green and leathery in appearance with a slightly pointed apex and lobbed base. The margin is entire. |
| Flower Description |
| Flowers are small in size, about 1 cm in length, and are clustered along a rachis. The flowers are very fragrant and slightly vary in colour from shades of white to hues of yellow. They have 5 narrow petals and are found at the apex of branches and twigs. Inocarpus fagifer begins to flower between the months of November and December, fruiting between January and February the following year. Trees take 3 to 5 years before flowering takes place. The flowers from Inocarpus fagifer are most commonly pollinated by bats. |
| Fruit Description |
| Inocarpus fagifer will begin fruiting after 8 years. The fruit is typically ovoid, slightly flattened, and rounded. Sizes range from 50 - 110 g in weight, 4 - 13 cm in length, and 3 - 12 cm in width. The fruit can range from green, to orange, to brown, to red. Though most times a red fruit means it is ready for harvest. The skin of the fruit is smooth with a single kernel inside. The inside kernel is white and toxic to humans when eaten raw but edible once cooked. Inocarpus fagifer typically fruits once per year, though it has reportedly fruited 2 seasons per year in Fiji. The kernel has a very short shelf life and is highly perishable, with its colour changing rapidly from white to reddish-brown after being opened. |
| Colour Description |
| Fall blooms are creamy, typically white, clusters with a slight yellow tinge. Producing a brown pith (between one to two years) and brown/green twigs. The older bark becomes a grey colour. Fresh leaves are pink, turning yellow to dark green in colour. Fruit can vary in colours from green, to orange, to red, to brown. Most fruit darkens as they begin to ripen, though some will stay completely green. |
| Texture Description |
| The texture of Inocarpus fagifer is coarse, rough, and flakey with brown lenticels turning grey with age. |
| Notable Specimens |
| In the Singapore Botanic Gardens there is currently one Inocarpus fagifer listed as a Heritage Tree, located in Singapore. |
| Propagation |
| The most effective way to propagate Inocarpus fagifer is through direct-seeding, either straight into a field or grown in a nursery. The most common method of sowing the seed is by planting the entire fruit, mesocarp included. This method works best due to the rapid loss in viability as soon as the seed is exposed from its casing, though storage can take place in shady temperatures of 19 - 25 °C and are planted within 3 weeks of exposure. The radicle should be pointing down at a depth of 3 - 5 cm when planted in media. Inocarpus fagifer can also be propagated through leafy stem cuttings. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| In the Solomon Islands, the bark sap would be consumed to treat urinary infections, while the juice produced from the fruit was used to treat insect bites and burns in Tonga. In Borneo and Java, the tannin from the bark would be eaten to help with intestinal pain. In Samoa folklore it is also believed that humans were originally birthed from the fruit of the Tahitian chestnut tree. |
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