{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Terminalia_catappa_(fruit).jpg |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Thomson, L. |author2=Evans, B. |date=2019 |title=''Terminalia catappa'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T61989853A61989855 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T61989853A61989855.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> |genus = Terminalia |species = catappa |authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]{{R|POWO}} |synonyms = {{Species list |header = 21 synonyms |hidden = yes |Buceras catappa|(L.) Hitchc. |Myrobalanus catappa|(L.) Kuntze |Juglans catappa|(L.) Lour. |Myrobalanus commersonii|Kuntze |Myrobalanus rubrigemmis|(Tul.) Kuntze |Terminalia burmanica|King ex Prain |Terminalia catappa var. chlorocarpa|Hassk. |Terminalia catappa var. macrocarpa|Hassk. |Terminalia catappa var. pubescens|Kurz |Terminalia catappa var. rhodocarpa|Hassk. |Terminalia catappa var. subcordata|(Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) DC. |Terminalia intermedia|Bertero ex Spreng. |Terminalia kydiana|Roxb. ex Wall. |Terminalia latifolia|Blanco |Terminalia mauritiana|Blanco |Terminalia moluccana|Lam. |Terminalia ovatifolia|Noronha |Terminalia paraensis|Mart. |Terminalia rubrigemmis|Tul. |Terminalia subcordata|Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. |Phytolacca javanica|Osbeck }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |title=''Terminalia catappa'' L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:171034-1 |date=2025 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=18 June 2025 }}</ref> }}
'''''Terminalia catappa''''' is a large [[Tropics|tropical]] tree in the leadwood tree family, [[Combretaceae]], native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and [[Seychelles]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Common names in English include '''country almond''', '''Indian almond''', '''Malabar almond''', '''sea almond''', '''tropical almond''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | ''Terminalia catappa'' L. |36334 |access-date= 3 July 2016}}</ref> '''beach almond'''<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Henn JJ, McCoy MB, Vaughan CS |title=Beach almond (Terminalia catappa, Combretaceae) seed production and predation by scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and variegated squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides) |journal=[[Revista de Biología Tropical]] |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=929–38 |date=September 2014 |pmid=25412525 |doi= 10.15517/rbt.v62i3.14060|doi-access=free }}</ref> and '''false kamani'''.<ref>A.K. Kepler. ''Trees of Hawaii'' ''Kottamba''.</ref>
The [[Botanical name#Components of plant names|species epithet]] is based on its [[Malay language|Malay]] name ''ketapang''.<ref>{{cite book |page=122 |title=Deutsch Ost Afrika. Band X. Beitrage zu Naturgeschichte von Ostafrika |author=Stuhlmann, Franz |year=1909 |place=Berlin |publisher=Dietrich Reimer |url=https://archive.org/stream/beitrgezurkultur00stuh#page/122/mode/2up/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=''Noctes orientales''. Being a selection of essays read before the Straits Philosophical Society between years 1893 and 1910 |year=1913 |place=Singapore |publisher=Kelly & Walsh |page=183 |type=Criticism |author=Hynnersley, C.W.S. |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924005465301#page/n205/mode/2up}}</ref>
== Description == The tree grows to {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=off}} tall, with an upright, symmetrical crown and horizontal branches. As the tree gets older, its crown becomes more flattened to form a spreading, vase shape. Its branches are distinctively arranged in tiers. The leaves are large and ovoid, {{cvt|15|-|25|cm|abbr=off|frac=4|in}} long and {{cvt|10|-|14|cm|frac=4|in}} broad; they have a glossy and leathery dark green surface like paper.<ref name="FM">{{cite journal |last=Exell |first=A.W. |date=May 1954 |title=Combretaceae |url=https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/532636/ |journal=Flora Malesiana |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=566–568}}</ref> They [[deciduous|fall]] during the dry season; they turn pinkish-reddish or yellow-brown, due to [[pigment]]s such as [[violaxanthin]], [[lutein]], and [[zeaxanthin]].{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
The trees are [[monoecious]], with distinct small male and female flowers on the same tree. Both are produced on axillary or terminal spikes, they are {{cvt|1|cm|in|frac=8}} in diameter, white to greenish, and inconspicuous with no petals.<ref name="FM"/> Pollen grains measure about 30 microns.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
The fruit is a [[drupe]] {{cvt|5|-|7|cm|frac=8|in}} long and {{cvt|3|-|5.5|cm|frac=8|in}} broad containing a single seed; it is green at first, then yellows and finally turns to red when ripe. The entire fruit is corky and light so it can be dispersed by water, but it can also be spread by bats that eat them.<ref name="FM"/> When the seed germinates, it unfolds the largest pair of foliar (leafy) cotyledons of any plant, up to {{cvt|8.5|cm}} wide by up to {{cvt|3.5|cm}} long.<ref>Dr. D. Burger Hzn "Seedlings of species of Some Tropical Trees and Shrubs Mainly of Southern Asia, Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation (1972) page 75</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== {{more citations needed section|date=November 2025}}
The tree has been spread widely by humans, so the native range is uncertain.<ref name=rangeRef>{{Citation |last=Prebble |first=Matthew |title=No fruit on that beautiful shore: What plants were introduced to the subtropical Polynesian islands prior to European contact? |date=2008 |work=Islands of Inquiry |volume=29 |pages=227–252 |editor-last=Clark |editor-first=Geoffrey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24h8gp.17 |access-date=2025-11-24 |series=Colonisation, seafaring and the archaeology of maritime landscapes |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-921313-89-9 |editor2-last=Leach |editor2-first=Foss |editor3-last=O'Connor |editor3-first=Sue}}</ref><ref group=Note name=rangeFoot/> It has long been naturalized in a broad belt extending from Africa to northern [[Australia]] and [[New Guinea]] through [[southeast Asia]] and [[Micronesia]] into the [[Indian subcontinent]]. More recently, the plant has been introduced to parts of the [[Americas]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GISD |url=https://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1581 |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=www.iucngisd.org}}</ref> Until the mid-20th century, the tree had been used extensively in Brazilian urban landscaping<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maria |first=Tamara Ribeiro Botelho de Carvalho |last2=Biondi |first2=Daniela |last3=Behling |first3=Alexandre |last4=de Sousa |first4=Nilton Jose |date=2021 |title=Evaluation of Terminalia catappa street trees: A case study in Itanhaém – São Paulo, Brazil |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1618866721004003 |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |language=en |volume=66 |article-number=127373 |doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127373|url-access=subscription }}</ref>, since being a rare case tropical deciduous, their fallen leaves would give a "European" flair to the street. This practice is currently abolished, and the "amendoeiras" are being replaced by native, evergreen trees.
==Cultivation and uses== ''T. catappa'' is widely grown in [[Tropics|tropical]] regions of the world as an [[ornamental tree]], grown for the deep shade its large leaves provide. The fruit is edible,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hargreaves |first1=Dorothy |last2=Hargreaves |first2=Bob |title=Tropical Trees of Hawaii |url=https://archive.org/details/tropicaltreesofh00doro_0 |url-access=registration|orig-date=1st Pub. 1964 |publisher=Ross Hargreaves |location=Kailua, Hawaii |page=31 |isbn=978-0-910690-02-7 }}</ref> tasting slightly acidic. When ripe, the seeds are edible raw or cooked<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |author=United States Department of the Army |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |page=106 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref> and are the source of its 'almond' common names, but are small and difficult to extract.
The wood is red and solid, and has high water resistance; it has been used in [[Polynesia]] for making [[canoe]]s. In [[Tamil language|Tamil]], almond{{clarify|date=February 2026}} is known as ''nattuvadumai''.
The leaves contain several [[flavonoid]]s (such as [[kaempferol]] or [[quercetin]]), several [[tannin]]s (such as [[punicalin]], [[punicalagin]] or [[tercatin]]), [[saponin]]s and [[phytosterol]]s. Due to this chemical richness, the leaves (and the bark) are used in different [[herbal medicine]]s for various purposes. For instance in [[Taiwan]], fallen leaves are used as an herb to treat [[liver]] diseases. In [[Suriname]], an [[herbal tea]] made from the leaves has been prescribed against [[dysentery]] and [[diarrhea]]. The leaves may contain agents for prevention of [[cancer]]s (although they have no demonstrated anticarcinogenic properties) and [[antioxidant]]s, as well as anti[[clastogenic]] characteristics. Extracts of {{nobr|''T. catappa''}} have shown activity against ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' chloroquine (CQ)-resistant (FcB1) and CQ-sensitive (HB3) strains.<ref>Hnawia E, Hassani L, Deharo E, Maurel S, Waikedre J, Cabalion P, Bourdy G, Valentin A, Jullian V, Fogliani B. "Antiplasmodial activity of New Caledonia and Vanuatu traditional medicines". ''Pharm Biol''. 2011 Apr; '''49'''(4): 369-76.</ref>
Keeping the leaves in an aquarium may lower the pH and heavy-metal content of the water.{{citation needed|date=August 2008}} It has been used in this way by fish breeders for many years, and is active against some parasites and bacterial pathogens.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.actahort.org/books/678/678_25.htm |title=Antiparasitic, antibacterial, and antifungal activities derived from a ''Terminalia catappa'' solution against some Tilapia (''Oreochromis niloticus'') pathogens |author1=C. Chitmanat |author2=K. Tongdonmuan |author3=P. Khanom |author4=P. Pachontis |author5=W. Nunsong |name-list-style=amp |journal=Acta Horticulturae |volume=678 |pages=179–182 |year=2005|issue=678 |doi=10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.678.25 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is also believed to help prevent fungus forming on the eggs of the fish.{{citation needed|date=August 2008}} While common in hobby fishkeeping, this use of catappa leaves is not employed in commercial aquaculture.
==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:A Hoverfly on a Desi Badam (Terminalia catappa) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 0494.jpg|Inflorescence File:Almendro (Terminalia catappa) (14787612664).jpg|Foliage and immature inflorescences File:Terminalia catappa fruits at various stages of ripeness-1.JPG|Fruits at various stages of ripeness: one cut open to reveal the edible kernel within the hard [[endocarp]], and another partially opened to reveal the fleshy [[mesocarp]] surrounding the fibrous inner layers File:Starr 080604-6222 Terminalia catappa.jpg|Tree canopy on Sand Island, [[Midway Atoll]] File:欖仁樹 Terminalia catappa 20210121125731 01.jpg|In winter </gallery>
==Notes== {{reflist|group=Note|refs= <ref name=rangeFoot>For example, on the sub-tropical [[Polynesia|Polynesian]] islands, it is unknown whether this species was introduced by humans prior to European contact or if the species predates human settlement on the islands where it is found.</ref> }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Terminalia catappa}} *[http://www.indianalmondleaves.com Indian almond leaves]- Website devoted to Indian almond leaves in folk medicine, modern medicine and aquariums *[http://localfishshop.blogspot.com/2010/02/ketapang-leaves-most-of-tropical-fishes.html More Ketapang Info]- Blog on ketapang leaves
{{WestAfricanPlants|Terminalia catappa}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q271179}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Terminalia (plant)|catappa]] [[Category:Flora of Madagascar]] [[Category:Flora of Seychelles]] [[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]] [[Category:Flora of China]] [[Category:Flora of Taiwan]] [[Category:Flora of the Southwestern Pacific]] [[Category:Flora of Queensland]] [[Category:Flora of the Northern Territory]] [[Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] [[Category:Austronesian agriculture]]