MMSU Logo MMSU Edible Landscaping

Bugnay/Bignay

Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng

Bugnay/Bignay

Description

Bignay is a small, smooth, dioecious tree, 4 to 10 meters high. Leaves are shiny, oblong, 8 to 20 centimeters long, pointed at the tip, rounded or pointed at the base. Spikes are axillary or terminal, simple, and usually 5 to 15 centimeters long. Flowers are small and green. Male flowers are about 1.5 millimeters in diameter, borne on spikes, while the female flowers grow out on racemes. Fruit is fleshy, red, acid, edible, ovoid, and about 8 millimeters long, single-seeded, and borne in grapelike pendant clusters (often paired), wrinkled when dry, the seed becoming somewhat compressed.

Uses

  • Decoction of dried materials used for parched tongue, lack of appetite, indigestion, and sprains
  • Leaves used for snakebites
  • Leaves and fruits used for anemia and hypertension
  • Juice of fruits used for heart disease
  • Used for syphilitic affections
  • Stem-bark used for fevers
  • Solution from boiled leaves used for bathing patients with painful joints

Plant Part Used

Roots, leaves, and fruits

Distribution

  • Common from northern Luzon to Mindanao, in thickets, etc., in the vicinity of towns and settlements, and occasional in forests.
  • Also reported in Sri Lanka, India, eastern Himalaya, Burma, Indo-China, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Australia.

Preparation

  • Decoction of dried materials used for parched tongue, lack of appetite, indigestion
  • Solution from boiled leaves used for bathing patients with painful joints
  • Boiled leaves and fruits used for anemia and hypertension
  • Squeezed juice of fruits used for heart disease
  • Fresh Fruits: Eaten raw when fully ripe (dark purple) to boost immunity or aid digestion 
  • Fruit Juice or Tea: Ripe berries are boiled or steeped in hot water to create a tart drink used traditionally for stomach problems and blood circulation
  • Fermented Wine or Vinegar: Fruits are often fermented into bugnay wine or natural vinegar, consumed in small amounts as a tonic for heart health and cholesterol management
  • Leaf Decoction: Young leaves are washed and boiled in water to make a warm herbal wash or drink used traditionally for skin issues, snakebites, or digestive upsets   

References

← Back