Belinjau

Belinjau is fruit from belinjau tree, one of shading trees populated particularly in Asia. The tree has big shape branches surrounded by small leaves. Its height can be up to 25 m. Belinjau has health benefits for human body.

Leaves

Its opposite, stalked leaves have slightly leathery leaf blades that are oval to lance-shaped, dark green, and 7.5-20 by 2.5-10 cm. The leaves are edible.

Flowers

The plant is dioecious in nature. This means that it produces only male or female flowers on the trees. The flowers are catkin-liked in appearance. The male flower consists of a stamen, sepals and petals while the female flower have an ovule, sepals and petals.

Fruits

The seeds of the fruit are covered by a fleshy layer which is in turn covered by a tough husk. It will ripen from green to yellow, from yellow to orange and from orange to red. The seeds are oval in shape. The belinjau fruits are known to be highly nutritious as it is rich in antioxidants. It is a common ingredient in Indonesian food. However in Singapore, this fruit is usually made into a snack!

Pollination

It is insect-pollinated and its seeds are probably dispersed by birds.