Bignay is a nourishing and fresh fruit which are found abundantly in Southeast Asian nations. It is popular for its health benefits. Fruits are small in size, brown and smooth. Antidesma bunius is the scientific name of Bignay fruit. Bignay fruit is also known from these names such as Chinese Laurel, Black Currant Tree, Currant Tree, Currentwood, Salamander Tree, Nigger’s Cord, Wild Cherry, Bugnay or bignai, Herbert River-cherry, Queensland-cherry and Salamander-tree.
It is able to grow 15 to 30 meters high having trunk diameter of 20 to 85 cm. Leaves are leathery, evergreen, oval shaped and is about 20 cm long and 7 cm wide. This species is dioecious which means male and female flowers grow on separate trees. Flowers possess strong and unpleasant scent. Pistillate flowers grow on long racemes and staminate flowers are found in small bunches. Fruit are globose or ovoid which is 5 to 11 mm by 4 to 7 mm in size hanging singly or paired in long and heavy bunches. Fruits are green at first which turns to yellow to pink to red and bluish to violet when fully matured. The fruit skin has red juice and the white pulp has colorless juice. Each fruit contains straw colored seed which is oval, compressed measuring 6 to 8 mm by 4.5 to 5.5 mm. When the fruit is immature, it has sour taste and becomes sweet when ripe.
Bignay fruit is helpful to lower cholesterol, weight loss and maintain healthy heart. Fruits are used to make Bignay tea. It is also used for preparing jams, vines, syrups and other foods due to its nourishing and reinvigorating flavor.
Plant
Bignay is a dioecious, evergreen and perennial tree growing upto 15 to 30 meters in height with trunk diameter of 20 to 85 cm. The tree has yellow brown bark, terete branchlets which are glabrous to densely ferrugineous to pubescent. Leaves are leathery, oval shaped, evergreen which measures 20 cm long and 7 cm wide. Leaves are distichous having petiole furrowed. It is short and glabrous to ferrugineous to pubescent. It possesses pubescent, linearlanceolate and caduceus stipules. Lamina of leaf is oblong to elliptic, apex acuminate, base obtuse or rounded to shallowly cordate, glabrous and glossy green above. An inflorescence is staminate, axillary measuring 6 to 15 cm long and consists of 3 to 8 branches having deltoid to elliptic and pubescent bracts. Staminate flowers are sessile measuring 3 to 4 mm by 3 mm. Pistillate inflorescence are axillary, simple or four branched and measures 4 to 17 cm long. Pistillate flowers measures 2.5 to 3 by 1.5 mm. Pedicles are pubescent to glabrous and is about 0.5 to 2 mm long. Calyx is cupular and measures 1-1.5 by 1.5 mm. An ovary is glabrous to very sparsely pilose and ellipsoid. Fruits are glabrous, ovoid or globose in shape and are about 5 to 11 mm by 4 to 7 mm. Fruit is green which later on turns into yellow, pink, red or bluish to violet when fully ripened. It consists of hard kernel in straw colored, compressed, oval, ridged or fluted and is about 6 to 8 mm by 4.5 to 5.5 mm.