The fruit is sour, but the spectacular sight of crimson red fruits hanging down from the tree is indeed a sight for sore eyes. Muttikkai or Moottikkaippan is a lesser known wild edible endemic fruit tree found throughout the evergreen forests of South western Ghats. Now, it is the fruiting season of this tree and one can find this fruit bearing tree in many places.
Local vendors and tribals sell this wild edible fruit near forest areas. A member of Euphorbiaceae family and cousin of Gooseberry, the tree is scientifically named as Baccaurea courtallensis. It is a medium tree growing to a maximum height of 8-10 metres. The tree never catches any attention till flowering.
It comes to limelight when in full bloom during February- March and consequently during fruiting season during MayJune. It is cauliflorous in nature i.e., produces flowers and fruits from the main stem. When the tree attains maturity, nodules appear on main stem....
