Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. Moore (Symplocaceae)

Scientific name
Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. Moore
Family name
Symplocaceae
Common name
Aobanoki (Japanese)
Local name
Meut miang
Small to medium-sized tree, up to 18 m tall, c. 29 cm in diameter. Stem grey or dark brown, smooth, faintly hooped, twigs rusty brown, hairy to glabrous. Leaves simple, alternate; blade elliptic, oblong or obovate, 12–19 × 3.5–8.5 cm, apex acuminate, base cuneate, margin faint to distinctly toothed, lateral veins in 9 to 12 pairs, raised below, veins and reticulations faint to inconspicuous above, upper surface glabrous, lower densely dark brown, hairy or glabrous; petioles 0.5–2.2 cm long. Inflorescence a panicle of spikes, rachis with dense, long hairs to glabrous. Fruit more or less flask-shaped, 5–7 × 4–5 mm, beaked by calyx lobes.
Traditional medicinal use
Functionality
Functional constituents
Distributed from lowlands to mountain forests. Propagated by seed sowing or stem cutting.
Young shoots are harvested during the rainy season and eaten raw with hot and spicy dishes or add to curries.
Leaves