Antidesmal bunius
PHYLLANTHACEAE. Indigenous
SIZE: 3 to 10m tall: trunk size 20cm diameter
TYPE: Evergreen
HABITAT: Thickets and open slopes, in towns and communities and occasionally in forests from Northern Luzon to Mindanao
The bignay’s cascading cherry-like fruits are green when young, and turn to red and deep purple when ripe. You might want to harvest bignay fuits before the birds get them! Substitute the green fruits for vinegar when cooking sour dishes (sinigang! Paksiw!); preserve the red ones as jam or as wine or juice to ease a fever; and eat the purple ones with a sprinkling of salt to be fortified with iron.