Wong Dang - a fruit

This photo is from a Thai language blog. I am not able to "communicate" with the blogger as we do not have a common language. I would like to say thanks. And perhaps one day, I can get a photo of my own for this posting.

There was this fruit tree (Buah Kerong, Buah Kendoong, Manggis Hutan, Garcinia Hombroniana Pierre)in my grandfather's garden - called Wong Dang.

When the tree started to bear fruits we became extremely happy. It was like spring coming to the top of the hill and that we would soon be having this wonderful fruit to eat. The expectation of a forthcoming sweet treat was a wonderful childhood training.

Grand father was a very cautious and frugal man and he was a top notch disciplinarian. We kids were told not to climb the small tree at any one time and that if we ate too much of the fruit, it could kill us. The Foochow saying goes like this, "Wong Dang, Dang si nern." The fruit, wong dang, can kill (dang si) a person.

It is just a rhyme which is so much part of my happy childhood.

And for many many years, I have been trying to get a picture of this fruit tree. It was strange that my own photography adventure in life focussed on flora and fauna,whereas my dad's was on people and events. So he did not take any photo of any plant of those days. I know that this fruit has gone out of fashion and perhaps people don't know about this plant any more.

I hope this posting would help me find that illusive photo .

The skin of the fruit was dried by my frandmother to make soup or flavour fish soup. The flesh was sourish sweet and it gave us a lot of joy, eating the fruit together with grandfather. We could not wait for the fruits to ripen. The ripe fruits looked beautiful on the tree as they were red and pink of various shades.

Also I remember that we must never stain our clothes when eating these red fruits. There were no stain removers at that time.

We were scared to eat too many because we feared death.