Barringtonia acutangula (Lecythidaceae) is a shrub or small bushy, multi-stemmed tree that can grow up to 12 m tall. This species usually grows on floodplains of rivers or along riverbanks and swampy inundated areas and occasionally up to 400 m altitude. This is a widely distributed species found from India to Myanmar and Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia to New Guinea. In Thailand, this species is known as chik, chik num, mai chik and pooy-sai in Laos. In Malaysia it is known as putat while in Indonesia as ipil, pangpanik, poetat or putat tayap. The leaves are edible and eaten as a vegetable. Many local medicinal uses are also recorded from India. This is another species of Barringtonia that flowers and fruits throughout the year in the Kepong Botanical Gardens. The conservation status of Barringtonia acutangula is Least Concern.
Written by Norham S. Y. Posted on 7 January 2013. The weekly weather was 25° to 33°C and cloudy.