Bignây

One tree with fruit right now is bignây (Antidesma bunius), not a very popular fruit but a very attractive tree: it bears clusters of small berry-like fruits that simultaneously are in varying degrees of ripeness, so the colors in one cluster can vary from pale green to pink to bright red and black.


Apparently, it's not just me who's attracted to it but birds as well! Among the first fruit trees we planted in the gardens was this and this year, it has borne fruit, just on its third year (the photos though, are from trees that have been around much longer). Alongside arátiles, talisay, and various figs, the bignây trees hopefully contribute in making the farm a bird sanctuary.


I've read that it is widespread throughout Southeast Asia as far west as India, and that the Malay name is berunâi, which must have been the source of the name of the Sultanate of Brunei and perhaps even the island to which it is in: Borneo.