426 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



THE SANTOL 

 (Sandoricum Koetjape, Merr.) 



Few writers recommend the santol as a fruit worthy of exten- 

 sive cultivation. It is known chiefly in the Malayan region, 

 where it is indigenous. The tree is medium sized, attaining 

 to 50 feet in height. The leaves are trifoliate with elliptic to 

 oblong-ovate, acuminate leaflets 4 to 6 inches in length. The 

 greenish flowers are borne in axillary panicles and are followed 

 by globose or oblate fruits about 2 inches in diameter, brownish 

 yellow and velvety on the surface, with a thick tough rind 

 inclosing five segments of whitish translucent pulp which ad- 

 heres to the large seeds. 



"The santol/' writes P. J. Wester, "is one of the most widely 

 distributed fruits in the Philippines. The tree is hardy, of 

 vigorous and rapid growth, and succeeds well even where the 

 dry season is prolonged. The fruit is produced in great abun- 

 dance, in fact in such profusion that large quantities annually 

 rot on the ground during the ripening season, which extends 

 principally from July to October. It should be stated that the 

 waste of the fruit is due principally to its poor quality ; in fact, 

 from the European point of view most of the santols are barely 

 edible. However, now and then trees are found whose fruit 

 is of most excellent flavor, and when a fruit shall have been 

 found that also has the feature of being seedless or semi-seedless, 

 like the mangosteen, it is believed the now practically unknown 

 santol will become one of the most popular of the tropical fruits." 



Sandoricum indicum, Cav., is a botanical synonym. 



THE LANGSAT (Fig. 54) 

 (Lansium domesticum, Jack) 



While it cannot be said to rival the mangosteen, the langsat 

 is considered one of the best fruits of the Malayan region. 



