Canarium album

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Sapindales

Familia: Burseraceae
Tribus: Garugeae
Genus: Canarium
Species: Canarium album
Name

Canarium album (Lour.) DC., 1825
Synonyms

Pimela alba Lour.

Homonyms

Canarium album Blanco = Canarium luzonicum (Bl.) Miq.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asie
China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

De Candolle, A.P., 1825. Prodr. 2:80.

Links

Hassler, M. 2019. Canarium album. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Jul. 12. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Canarium album in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Jul. 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Canarium album. Published online. Accessed: Jul. 12 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Canarium album in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Jul 12.
Tropicos.org 2019. Canarium album. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 12 Jul 2019.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Canarium album in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Chinese olive

Canarium album[2] is a tree species in the genus Canarium and the family Burseraceae, found in Indo-China; the Catalogue of Life does not record any sub-species.[2]

Canarium album produces a fruit commonly called Chinese olive or white olive,[3] though it has no relation to Olea; it is consumed in Vietnam (Vietnamese: trám trắng, fruit quả trám), Thailand (where it is known as nam liap (Thai: หนำเลี้ยบ), samo chin (Thai: สมอจีน) or kana (Thai: กาน้า)) and in China (simplified Chinese: 橄榄; traditional Chinese: 橄欖; pinyin: gǎnlǎn).[4]

The pulp of the tree's fruit and its seeds are edible, with a strong resinous flavor when they are fresh. Culinary oil can be extracted from the seed. Preserves can be made with the fruit, both sweet like jam or pickled preserves. In China, a pickle called olive vegetable (simplified Chinese: 橄榄菜; traditional Chinese: 橄欖菜; pinyin: gǎnlǎn cài), made from a mix of Canarium album fruit and mustard greens, is commonly used as a flavoring for congee and fried rice.[5]

Mostly cultivated in Thailand, cultivation has been introduced on a smaller scale to Fiji and northern Queensland in Australia. Its fruit, resin and seed are exported to Europe where they are used in the manufacture of varnish and soap.[6]
Gallery

Khao phat nam liap dish (with rice) from Thailand

Hunanese stir-fry of green beans with olive vegetable

References

The Plant List (retrieved 14 December 2017)
Roskov Y.; Kunze T.; Orrell T.; Abucay L.; Paglinawan L.; Culham A.; Bailly N.; Kirk P.; Bourgoin T.; Baillargeon G.; Decock W.; De Wever A. (2014). Didžiulis V. (ed.). "Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2014 Annual Checklist". Species 2000: Reading, UK. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
GRIN: Canarium album (retrieved 14 December 2017)
Lars Ragvald, Wai-Ling Ragvald & Susanna Björverud, Norstedts Kinesisk-Svenska Ordbok (Stockholm: Norstedt, 2012).
"Comfort Cooking: Olive vegetable fried rice | the Straits Times". 27 July 2021.
Janick, Jules (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts. Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.