Muntingia
Muntingia is a genus of plants in the family Muntingiaceae, comprising only one species, Muntingia calabura,[2] and was named in honour of Abraham Munting. It is native to the neotropics, from Mexico south to Bolivia, with edible fruit, and has been widely introduced in other tropical areas.
Muntingia calabura is a shrub or tree up to 12 m tall with spreading branches.[3] The leaves are alternate, distichous, oblong or lanceolate, 4–15 cm long and 1–6 cm wide, with toothed margin and covered in short hairs.[3][4][5] The flowers are small (up to 3 cm wide), solitary or in inflorescences of two or three flowers, with five lanceolate sepals, hairy, five obovate white petals, many stamens with yellow anthers, and a smooth ovoid ovary.[3][4][5] Fruit, an edible berry, is red at maturity, about 1.5 cm wide.[3][4]
M. calabura is native to southern Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and western South America south to Bolivia and Argentina.[2][3][6] It is present in tropical climate in disturbed lowland areas from sea level to 1000 m of elevation.[2][4] In South India, it is seen in the areas adjacent to the Western Ghat.
This species colonizes disturbed habitats in tropical lowland areas, becoming part of the secondary vegetation, as well as gallery forests.[3][7] It thrives in poor soil, able to tolerate acidic and alkaline conditions and drought, but doesn't grow in saline conditions.[3]
Although native to tropical America, M. calabura has been introduced in Southeast Asia and naturalized there and in other tropical parts of the world.[2][5][8]
M. calabura is planted as a source of timber and fuel. Its soft wood used for rural construction, while the bark is fibrous and used for making ropes.[2][7]
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