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English plum (Spondias dulcis)

Dlium English plum (Spondias dulcis)

English plum (Spondias dulcis) is a species in the Anacardiaceae, a tree 20 meters tall, erect stem with many branches, bark whitish brown or reddish, fruit eaten fresh or processed into a variety of dishes.

S. dulcis has pinnate leaves, 20-60 cm long, consisting of 9-25 leaflets, green and glossy, elliptical or obovate-oblong and 9-10 cm long. Flowers are white and small in terminal panicles.



Fruit oblong, 6-9 cm long, in bunches with 12 or more items on long stalks. The fruit falls to the ground while still green and firm, then turns golden yellow when ripe.

Young leaves are used as a spice for Pepes. The more ripe leaves are eaten as salad greens despite the sour taste. The fruit can be eaten raw with shrimp paste, thick, black, salty-sweet sauce. Often also used as juice.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Subfamily: Spondiadoideae
Genus: Spondias L. in Sp. Pl.: 371 (1753)
Species: Spondias dulcis Parkinson in J. Voy. South Seas: 39 (1773)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Cytheraea dulcis (Parkinson) Wight & Arn. in Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 1: 173 (1834)
Evia dulcis (Parkinson) Comm. ex Blume in Mus. Bot. 1: 233 (1850)
Poupartia dulcis (Parkinson) Blume in Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 1161 (1827)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Chrysomelon pomiferum G.Forst. ex A.Gray in U.S. Expl. Exped., Phan. 1: 374 (1854)
Evia acida Blume (1850)
Evia amara var. tuberculosa Blume (1850)
Spondias acida Blume in Flora 7: 291 (1824)
Spondias cytherea Sonn. in Voy. Indes Orient., ed. 2, 3: 242 (1782)
Spondias dulcis var. acida (Blume) Engl. in A.L.P.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 4: 247 (1883)
Spondias dulcis var. commersonii Engl. (1883)
Spondias dulcis var. integra Engl. (1883)
Spondias dulcis var. mucroniserrata Engl. (1883)
Spondias fragrans Pav. ex Engl. (1883)
Spondias longifolia Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 2: 453 (1832)
Spondias therebintoides Royen ex Blume (1850)

PUBLICATIONS

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.

Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H., Tan, Y. & Jin, X. (2025). An updated checklist of vascular plants of Myanmar. PhytoKeys 261: 135-364.

Banks, R.C. (ed.) (1982). Wildlife and wildlife habitat of American Samoa 2: 1-151. U.S. Fisch and Wildlife services, Washington.

Barthelat, F. (2019). La flore illustrée de Mayotte: 1-687. Biotope éditions.

Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 3: 1-89. ORSTROM, Bangui.

Dassanayake (ed.) (1983). A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon 4: 1-532. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. PVT. LTD., New Delhi, Calcutta.

Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.

Hammel, B.E., Grayum, M.H., Herrera, C. & Zamora, N. (eds.) (2020). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 4(1): 1-904. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

Jørgensen, P.M. & León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999). Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75: i-viii, 1-1181. Missouri Botanical Garden.

Mitchell, J.D. & Daly, D.C. (2015). A revision of Spondias L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Neotropics. PhytoKeys 55: 1-92.

Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Plunkett, G.M., Ranker, T.A., Sam, C. & Balick, M.J. (2022). Towards a checklist of the vascular flora of Vanuatu. Candollea 77: 105-118.

Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.

Smith, A.C. (1985). Flora Vitiensis Nova. A new flora for Fiji (Spermatophytes only) 3: 1-758. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai.

Sykes, W.R. (2016). Flora of the Cook Islands: 1-973. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii.

VERNACULAR NAME

Assamese: Omora
Bali: Kacemcem
Bengali: আমরা - বিলিটি Amra, Biliṭi
Bima: Inci
Bugis: Dau kaci, Kaci
Burmese: ဂွေး - ဂွေးချို Gway, Gwe-cho
Cameroon: Cas mango
Cebuano: Balolong
Chinese (simplified): 甜槟榔青
Chinese (traditional): 太平洋榅桲/莎梨 - 沙梨橄欖 - 食用檳榔青
Czech: Mombín sladký
Danish: Stor mombin
Dhivehi: Anbulha
Dutch: Kedongdong, Ambarella, Cythere
English: Ambarella, Polynesian plum, English plum, Golden apple, April plum, June plum, Jew plum, Ambarella, Cythere, Vi apple, Great hog plum
Fiji: Amrah, Wi
Filipino: Balolong, Hevi
Finnish: Otaheiteomena
French: Prunier de Cythère
German: Goldpflaume
Hausa: Tsada
Hawaii: Amrah, Wi
Hokkien: Amokana
Hong Kong: 食用檳榔青
Indonesia: Kedondong
Japanese: アマヤニリンゴ
Java: Dondong
Kannada: Amṭe kai, Kasi ambate
Khmer: ម៉ក់ - ម៉ូកា Mkak, Mokah
Kikongo: Manga zi nsende
Konkani: Ambaḍo
Lao: ກຸກ ຂວັນ Kook kvan
Ma'anyan: Kadondong
Macao: 食用檳榔青
Madura: Kedundung
Makassar: Karunrung
Malagasy: Sakoa
Malayalam: Ambazhanga
Malaysia: Ambra, Umbra, Kedondong
Maori: Vi kavakava
Mauritius: Frisiter, Fruit de cythère
Meitei: Heining
Nepali: अमारा Amara
Nusa Tenggara Timur: Inci
Odia: Ambaḷa, Ambaṛa
Palauan: Meseiedel
Papua: Gidu
PNG: Gidu, Green jungle
Portuguese: Cajamanga, Cajá-anão, Cajá-manga, Cajá-manga-anão, Cajamangueira, Macieira-dourada
Rongmei: Tamzinthai
Samoa: Vī
Sierra Leone: Chook-chook plum
Singlish: Buah long long
Sinhala: ඇම්බරෙල්ලා Ambarella
Slovak: Slivkovník sladký
Somali: Isbaandhays or isbaandhees
Spanish: Manzana de oro, Yuplón, Jobo indio
Sunda: Kadondong
Tagalog: Manguelas
Taiwan: 太平洋榅桲 - 沙梨橄欖
Tamil: புளிச்சக்கீரை Pulichcha kai
Tanzania: Embe ng'ong'o, Embe kizungu
Telugu: Aḍavi mamiḍi
Thai: มะกอกฝรั่ง
Timor: Inci
Tulu: Ambāḍe
Vietnam: Co’c, Cóc
Yapese: Titimar

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