Katmon

Katmon, locally called Bolobayaua in the Philippines, is flowering plants that grown in low to medium altitude forests. The tree is endemic to the Philippines and it can be found on Babuyan Islands, Luzon, Polillo, Mindoro, Masbate, Leyte, Negros Island, Guimaras, Cebu and Basilan.

Its trunk is erect that grows up to 50 feet high and the bark is smooth with shallow fissures. The leaves are leathery, shiny and oblong in shape, measuring 12 to 25 cm long, and coarsely toothed at the edges. Its flowers are white, large, showy, and about 15 cm in diameter with reddish pistils and stamens. The edible fruits are round, about 6 to 8 cm in diameter, with large fleshy sepals tightly enclosing the true fruit. Its fruit is also known as elephant apple. A red dye is also obtained from the bark of this tree.

The katmon fruit is not usually found for commercial sale, and is instead harvested for personal use to cook traditional Filipino sour dishes like pork sinigang or fish sinigang.

As a seedling, it said that it can properly thrive indoors as it is shade-tolerant. Because of its notable leaves and flowers, this evergreen has long been used as an accent tree by Filipino garden enthusiasts.

Scientific name: Dillenia philippinensis
Family: Dilleniaceae