Ceri Terengganu

 I would like to introduce a fruit plant that I have discovered on our backyard while cleaning up some space for planting food and came into my view. Oh what is that glossy smooth dark red skin fruit looks like a cherry fruit but growing in clusters like grape? So I asked on experts local medicinal plant in facebook group and many gurus said that it might be a plant called 'Ceri Terengganu'. Well ceri in our national language is an English borrowed word so 'Cherry' and Terengganu is one of Malaysia state. It is more seen in the Terengganu state or Johor state as well. Hence the plant is commonly known as 'Ceri Terengganu'. It does have other name known as 'Perupuk' or 'Kelelek' and the scientific name is Lepisanthes alata which belongs to tha Spindaceae family. This distribution of this plant is South-East Asia and it seem the plant does not have an English name yet. New leave shoots are interestingly in purplish colour. The plant fruits are edible but this plant is more used as ornamental plant for landscape by the council or providing some sheltered from the sun. The ripe fruit is said to be sweet (I have not tried it, I might pick some and let the turkey and geese have a taste of it first) with a little bit of  green raw fruit taste-like (I actually don't know how to describe the word 'kelat', may be other gardeners can help a bit). To enjoy the fruit sweetness and lessen the rawishhh taste, it is advice to rub the fruits  between your hand first. Make it a bit mushy. The fruits can also be roasted. The Ceri Terengganu ripe fruits attract bird and bats and they help dispersed the fruit seeds. The Ceri Terengganu tree fruits all year round, it does not have a specific flower or fruiting season.

 Our Ceri Terengganu tree is growing under our very tall tamarind plant at the moment so it is receiving filtered sunlight due to the tamarind plant big canopy. Not much known about this plant and only little scientific research has been done to understand the medicinal or nutritional value of its fruit. Traditionally it is said boiled water with this root plant can reduce itchiness or fever. The dark red colour of the skin fruit is said to contain anthocyanin that also aids as anti-oxidant. The fruit might also be used as natural colouring. 

 If you visit Malaysia, hope you can enjoy our local cherry plant :).

Mungkin mana tahu next MAHA kita dapat rasai jus ceri Terengganu pula (klik sini untuk info).
Sokong produk tempatan kita.

Mmmm...nak rajinkan diri ke petik buahnya buat jus.

Sesiapa yang berminat untuk mengetahui lebih mengenai pokok nadir kita ini sila lawati laman ini (klik sini).

I think I have to make an inventory what plants we have in my parents garden. So clueless at the moment. So that we siblings and our children will know what treasures our parents has grown for us and now we are the ones who really enjoy their fruit of labour.