Bignay or also known as Buni or a plant with the Latin name Antidesma Bunius is a beautiful and attractive ornamental plant, light, and always green.
Sometimes found as a shrub, but generally a tree that can grow up to 30 meters tall, although usually much smaller. In the larger Buni Tree specimens, the trunk can be up to 1 meter in diameter and up to 10 meters unbranched and straight, but is often found with fluted trunks or with supports that are up to 3 meters high and out 10 cm
CHARACTERS OF ANOTHER TREE
The Buni tree grows best in the hot, humid tropical lowlands. This tree thrives at an altitude of up to 1,200 meters in Java. The Buni tree is not strictly tropical plant and has proven vigorous well into central Florida. It grows best in sunny or light shade in fertile, moisture-tolerant soil. Its preferred habitats are wet pine forest, Dipterocarp forest and teak forest, on riverbanks, on forest edges, along roadsides, in bamboo groves, in shaded or open habitats, usually in secondary vegetation but also in primary vegetation.
Buni trees can begin to bear fruit within 5 - 6 years from seeding, or within 2 - 3 years from the time the plant is grafted.
It is a dioecious plant species, in which there are separate male and female forms. However, females produce fruit freely even when there are no males for pollination.
THE USE OF THE SOON FRUIT
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and used in jellies, preservatives etc.
When fully ripe, the thin but crusted fruit is juicy and slightly sweet
Round fruit up to 8 mm in diameter with relatively large seeds, used primarily for jams and jelly, although additional pectin is required to thicken properly.
Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or steamed and used as a side dish with rice
This tree can be cooked with other foods to give it a sour taste
DRUG PURPOSE
The leaves are cultured and used to treat snake bites in Asia
The leaves and roots are used to treat traumatic wounds
AGROFORESTRY USES
Buni tree A natural pioneer species, often found in the early stages of secondary forest succession and also invading marginal grasslands. Buni trees are sometimes used in reforestation projects.
This species appears to be an excellent choice as a precursor to forest development, preferably used in its native area because of its tendency to invade habitat.
OTHER USES OF THE EARTH TREE
The bark produces strong fibers for the ropes and straps and the wood has been pulped experimentally to make cardboard.
The wood of the Buni tree is reddish and hard. Soaked in water, it can become heavy and tough. Although it is not very durable in contact with the soil and is also susceptible to termite attack
CULTIVATION OF ANOTHER TREE
Cultivation of Buni Trees can be done through seeds. Every time the seeds are used, the seeds need about one month after they are ripe and can then be sown in the shade without treatment. Meanwhile, fresh seeds need to be pretreated with sulfuric acid for 15 minutes followed by immersion in water for 24 hours.
Meanwhile, vegetative propagation is preferred because the sex of the seedlings is uncertain and plants can start producing when they are three years old.
