Bignay, Chinese laurel, salamander tree, currant tree
antidème (French), Bignay/Salamanderbaum (German), himal cheri (Nepal), nolai-tali (Tamil), ma mao luang (Thai), buni (Indonesian), bignai (Philippines), nanyogomishi (Japanese), chunka (Australia aborigine), huni/wuni (Sudan)
(Antidesma bunius — Family Euphorbiaceae)
Bignay is a tree native to Southeast Asia and Western Australia, which bears long clusters of fruit containing thirty or forty purple berries, each less than an inch in diameter.
The clusters of berries are very colourful because they ripen unevenly.
Red ones can be seen in the same cluster as ripe purple ones, as well as white ones and yellowish-green ones. They are too acidic to eat raw, but their high pectin content makes them ideal for jams or to combine with other fruits having less pectin.
The whole cluster, whether all are ripe or not, can be picked for this purpose.
