Fruits and arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific region

Full text

Fruits and arboriculture in
the Indo-Pacific region
Paper presented at the;
17TH CONGRESS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION
ACADEMIA SINICA, TAIPEI, TAIWAN
9 TO 15 SEPTEMBER 2002
and subsequently revised for the IPPA Bulletin
This version has the same text as the final submission but has been reformatted as a preprint
Roger Blench
Mallam Dendo
8, Guest Road
Cambridge CB1 2AL
United Kingdom
Voice/Answerphone/Fax. 0044-(0)1223-560687
E-mail R.Blench@odi.org.uk
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roger_blench/RBOP.htm
This printout: Cambridge May 29, 2004

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................2
2. FRUITS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION..........................................................................................3
2.1 What is a fruit?........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2 Conspectus of fruits................................................................................................................................. 4
3. ORIGINS AND SPREAD......................................................................................................................... 14
3.1 Where do common fruits originate?...................................................................................................... 14
3.2 Notes on individual species................................................................................................................... 14
3.3 Who was moving fruit trees around? .................................................................................................... 20
4. CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................21
4.1 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 21
4.2 An expanded role for arboriculture? ..................................................................................................... 21
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 22
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................................. 22
TABLES
Table 1. Cultivated fruits of SE Asia and the Pacific 5
Table 2. Sources of fruits currently grown in the Indo-Pacific region 14
Table 3.Wild and domesticated Canarium spp. in the Indo-Pacific region 15
Table 4. SE Asian fruit names derived from Amerindian languages 19
CONVENTIONS
Transcription of terms in Pacific languages follow the source, in order to avoid inappropriate conversions.
ABSTRACT
One unconscious bias that commonly creeps into accounts of the development and spread of agriculture is an
emphasis on cereals and tubers. Since these are the basis of agriculture in the developed world, when
students of prehistory construct narratives in the tropics they tend to focus on these classes of cultigen and to
downplay both trees and herbs. The classic feature of distinguishing crops from their wild forbears in such
narratives is morphological change, a criterion which may apply only weakly or not at all to trees and herbs.
The domestication of tree products must be identified principally on distributional grounds as they are used
and discarded far from their 'home' area.
Although prehistory in the Indo-Pacific region has begun to emphasise the importance of arboriculture in
overall subsistence, it has been hamstrung by weak synchronic accounts of the taxonomy, origin and spread
of the major and minor fruit trees. Recent ethnographic work has begun to remedy this situation, but has yet
to be absorbed into archaeological models. Biogeography can therefore be of considerable importance in
determining the evolution of arboricultural subsistence, especially in a region with so many islands, where
settlement can be associated with the introduction of new species.
Another tool which has barely been used is comparative linguistics. Despite a relatively strong empirical
base for the description of Pacific languages in general, rich ethnobotanical accounts of cultivated and
protected trees are still scarce, reducing the potential to reconstruct the history of cultivated trees. But a
variety of lexical databases do exist incorporating terms for major fruit species which can enable us to
reconstruct a notional history. In addition, the diversity of language phyla on the SE Asian mainland allows
us to unravel the routes whereby fruit cultivation spread, through the analysis of loanwords. The paper
attempts an broad-brush survey of the role of fruit cultivation in the East Asia/ Pacific region.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
2
1. Introduction
An unconscious bias that commonly creeps into accounts of the development and spread of agriculture is an
emphasis on cereals and tubers. Since these are the basis of agriculture in the developed world, when
students of prehistory construct narratives in the tropics they tend to focus on these classes of cultigen and to
downplay both trees and herbs (although Harris, 1977, mentioned ‘wild nuts’ as one of his ‘alternative
pathways to agriculture’). The classic feature used to distinguish crops from their wild forbears in such
narratives is morphological change, a criterion which may apply only weakly or not at all to these vegetation
classes. As a consequence, the pattern of tree domestication must be identified largely on grounds of
biogeography and current ethnography.
Although prehistory in the Indo-Pacific region has begun to emphasise the importance of arboriculture in
overall subsistence, it has been hamstrung by weak synchronic accounts of the taxonomy, origin and spread
of both major and minor fruit trees. Recent ethnophytogeographic work has begun to remedy this situation,
but has yet to be absorbed into archaeological models. A combination of ethnographic accounts and
biogeography can therefore be of considerable importance in determining the evolution of arboricultural
subsistence, especially in a region with so many islands, where settlement is often co-associated with the
introduction of new species. DNA analysis of the affinities of tropical fruiting genera has only just begun,
but we may well expect the results to emend or revise radically the conclusions of phenotypic analyses, as in
the case of the persimmon, where Yonemori et al. (1998) showed from the amplified cpDNA of Diospyros
spp. in Thailand that its affinities were quite different from those proposed in NG (1978).
In the last few decades, there has been an expansion of reference material on Southeast Asian and Pacific
fruits, notably Guillamin (1954), Massal & Barrau (1956), Allen (1975), Chin & Yong (1982), Sillitoe
(1983), Morton (1987), Eisemann & Eisemann (1988), Henderson & Hancock (1989), Piper (1989), Verheij
& Coronel (1992), Tarepe & Bourke (1992), Bourke (1994), Cooper & Cooper (1994), Othman &
Subardhabandhu (1995), Tirtawinata et al. (1995), CIFOR (1996), Hutton (1996), Fernandez (1997), Walter
& Sam (1999, 2002), Tate (2000), Puri (2001), Jensen (2001) and Mazumdar (2004). Some of these
accounts are more scientific than others, and many include statements about the origins of fruit species that
are highly speculative.
The recognition of the importance of arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific region should be attributed above all
to the work of Douglas Yen (Yen 1974, 1977, 1985, 1992, 1994). Other useful studies are Barrau (1956,
1962), Ng (1975, 1976), Powell (1976, 1977), Mogea (1991), Lepofsky (1992), Gosden (1995) and Athens,
Ward & Murakami (1996). One of the distinctive features of arboriculture is the high degree of variability in
use and degree of domestication. With cereal agriculture, once a plant is domesticated, it will often not
survive except as a cultivated plant, perhaps because it no longer has a shattering head. Trees, in contrast,
often survive very well when ignored by humans. Lepofsky (1992:202) highlights the role on ‘encouraged
volunteers’, i.e. protecting self-seeded species, in the arboriculture of the Mussau islands. Hence the
literature is full of conflicting reports; a tree that is intensively cultivated on one island may be ‘wild’ on
another. A tree that is a famine food at one site can be a highly appreciated delicacy elsewhere. It may be
eaten as a fruit, or only grown for its flowers or for shampoo. This reflects both the changing ecology, when
a species that yields well on one island may be barren elsewhere, leading to it becoming wild or being used
for quite another purpose. This is very much in contrast to cereal agriculture, where the failure of a species
in a new ecology usually leads to its being dropped altogether.
Archaeobotany has begun to make contributions in some areas; macro-remains have been recorded from a
number of Pacific islands (e.g. Kirch 1989; Hayes 1992; Powell 1982) and also the mainland (for overview
see Kyle Latinis 1999, 2000; Kyle Latinis & Stark 1998). But results from flotation are still few and far
between, although the next few years should see a significant increase in results. Nonetheless, an overview
of synchronic use of fruits and recent distributional information ought to assist archaeologists in interpreting
their finds. A problem particular to trees is that it is often difficult to distinguish natural occurrences from
human use, except where the context is unambiguous.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
3
Another tool which remains underused is comparative linguistics. Despite a relatively strong empirical base
for the description of Pacific languages in general, rich ethnobotanical accounts of cultivated and protected
trees are still scarce, reducing the potential to reconstruct the history of cultivated trees. But a variety of
lexical databases do exist incorporating terms for major fruit species thereby enabling us to reconstruct a
notional history. Several papers have covered the reconstruction of plant names at various levels of
Austronesian, including Verheijen (1984), Wolff (1994), Tryon (1994), Li (1994), Ross (1996), Lynch
(2001), Blust (n.d.) and Reid (in press). Unfortunately, nothing like this exists for mainland phyla such as
Austroasiatic, Daic, Sino-Tibetan or Hmong-Mien, so accounts based purely on Austronesian tend to give a
one-sided picture. Although occasional detailed accounts of individual languages exist (e.g. Vidal 1962 for
Lao), without comparative lexical databases this does not advance the project. However, the diversity of
language phyla on the Southeast Asian mainland will sometimes allow us to unravel the routes whereby fruit
cultivation spread, through the analysis of loanwords (e.g. Mahdi 1998).
Before accepting too uncritically the results of linguistics it is worth pointing out that reconstruction not
counterpointed by biogeography has resulted in the publication of very misleading results. Dempwolff
(1938) posits proto-Austronesian *nanas and Li (1994) *paŋuDaN for ‘pineapple’. In reality, as Blust (n.d.)
points out, the pineapple was carried from South America around the world by the Portuguese in the 16
th
century. The cognate set that served as basis for Dempwolff's reconstruction of *nanas were all borrowings
from Portuguese ananas 'pineapple', which in turn derives from a Tupi-Guarani language of Brazil. The
cognate set for *paŋuDaN are terms that have been transferred from the pandanus, the fruit of which looks
similar to the pineapple and there is also apparently confusion with piña, the Spanish name widely borrowed
in Philippines languages. Speakers seeing the pineapple were immediately reminded of the pandanus
independently throughout the area where Austronesian languages are spoken. Similarly, Ross (1996:167)
flags the apparent reconstruction of Citrus spp. in proto-Oceanic but notes that the edible forms of this genus
are only likely to have reached the Pacific after European contact. Either the Oceanic forms originally
applied to the scarcely edible leech-lime, Citrus hystrix, or to other genera with similar-looking fruit, such as
Clymenia spp. or Microcitrus spp. This type of shifting of the referent of a lexical item, whereby old terms
are applied to entirely new species such as New World introductions, or to indigenous but related species
encountered as a population moves, should warn historical linguists of the importance of taking care when
reconstructing flora and fauna. It is not enough to get the linguistics right, the biology must also be accurate.
A fresh compilation of the evidence from ethnography, linguistics and archaeology for the history of fruits in
this region therefore seems timely. This paper is intended to confront the archaeobotanical, ethnographic and
linguistic data; it attempts a broad-brush survey of the role of fruit trees in the Indo-Pacific region and gives
examples of the potential of comparative linguistics to model their history. This is not a zone chosen on a
biogeographical basis, but is intended to add to the increasingly rich prehistory of the region revealed by
archaeology.
2. Fruits of the Indo-Pacific region
2.1 What is a fruit?
The botanical definition of a fruit is broadly the seed-bearing part of the plant and by this definition most
fruits are small, inedible and often toxic. Nuts are similarly the seeds inside the fruits. I have used a more
colloquial idea of a fruit as a plant product with edible flesh and possibly edible seeds, thereby including
some species with edible nuts. The list includes fruits which are cultivated at least in some localities and
those which are more than simply famine foods. In this paper I have confined the listing to trees cultivated
for their fruit, thus omitting for example, important staples, such as sago, fern palm and the banana, but also
the many trees protected and cultivated for other reasons. Fruit-bearing cultivated and wild vines, such as the
water-melon, are excluded, as are trees grown for their leaves, such as Erythrina spp.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
4
2.2 Conspectus of fruits
Table 1 shows the most important fruits in the East Asian/Pacific region with their family, common English
name and probable origin. Walter & Sam (1999:261 ff.) provide an important table of the claimed origin and
likely dispersal to individual parts of the Pacific for each fruit. Walter & Sam (2002) is an English
translation with slightly different pagination which has only recently become available, so the page numbers
given here continue to refer to the original French edition. The first column is marked ‘origin’, but places of
origin must be treated with scepticism for many plants; detailed work will undoubtedly revise these
speculations. Where the claimed origin is marked x to y, this implies that the species is indigenous to that
geographical range; there is as yet no specificity as to the original locale of domestication. The alphabetic
coding for the probable origin is explained in Table 2; this is intended to give some weight to different
regions, but the uncertainties mean that it is not worth attributing statistical validity to these zones.
Distribution tries to capture current range either worldwide or in the Indo-Pacific area; sometimes this may
the same as the range given in ‘Origin’. Many of the major tropical fruits are now cultivated worldwide, but
at least some have extended their range in prehistory through human agency. The Column marked LD?
stands for Linguistic Data and a plus sign implies that an analysis of names for the tree in at least some
vernaculars exists. Discussion of these is given in §3. The archaeobotanical data (AD) are essentially
adopted unchanged from Kyle Latinis (2000); I have only cited the oldest dates and I have not included the
references, since these are set out in the original publications.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
Table 1. Cultivated fruits of SE Asia and the Pacific
No.
Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD?
AD References
1. Adenanthera
pavonina
Fabaceae Coral pea, Red
bead tree
Malesia Pan-Pacific F Tryon (1994:485),
Walter & Sam
(1999:80)
2. Aegle marmelos Rutaceae Bael India India, SE Asia,
Philippines
H
Tate (2000:12)
3. Aleurites
moluccana
Euphorbiaceae Candlenut South India ? Worldwide tropics H + 13,000 BP,
Timor
Whistler (1991:52),
Walter & Sam
(1999:83)
4. Anacardium
occidentale
Anacardiaceae Cashew Brazil Worldwide tropics J Fernandez (1997:52),
Tate (2000:14)
5. Ananas comosus Annonaceae Pineapple Brazil Worldwide tropics J Fernandez (1997:98),
Puri (2001:26)
6. Annona muricata Annonaceae Soursop West Indies Worldwide tropics J Fernandez (1997:36),
Tate (2000:18), Puri
(2001:9)
7. Annona reticulata
Annonaceae Bullock heart
West Indies Worldwide tropics J Tate (2000:20)
8. Annona
squamosa
Annonaceae Sweetsop,
sugar apple
Mexico Worldwide tropics J Tate (2000:22)
9. Antidesma bunius Euphorbiaceae Chinese laurel,
Bignay,
Salamander
tree
India, Southeast
Asia, W. Australia
India, Southeast Asia,
W. Australia
A Fernandez (1997:16),
Tate (2000:24)
10. Areca catechu Palmae Betel palm NE Indonesia ? Pan-Pacific, mainland
SE Asia
F + 13,000 BP,
Timor
Whitmore (1979),
Puri (2001:110)
11. Artocarpus altilis Moraceae Breadfruit New Guinea ? Worldwide tropics C + Barrau (1957);
Whistler (1991:55),
Ragone (1991, 1997);
Walter & Sam
(1999:87)
12. Artocarpus
heterophyllus
Moraceae Jackfruit India Worldwide tropics H + Fernandez (1997:78),
Tate (2000:28), Puri
5

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
(2001:95)
13.
Artocarpus
integer
Moraceae Chempedak Malesia SE Asia F Tate (2000:30), Puri
(2001:96)
14. Averrhoa bilimbi Oxalidaceae Bilimbi,
cucumber tree
Malesia Mainland SE Asia F + Fernandez (1997:48),
Tate (2000:32)
15. Averrhoa
carambola
Oxalidaceae Carambola,
star-fruit
SE Asia Worldwide tropics F + Fernandez (1997:10),
Tate (2000:34), Puri
(2001:109)
16. Baccaurea
motleyana
Euphorbiaceae Rambai Sumatra Southeast Asia F Morton (1987:220),
Puri (2001:45)
17. Baccaurea
racemosa
Euphorbiaceae Kapundung Java Indonesia F Morton (1987:220)
18. Baccaurea
ramiflora
Euphorbiaceae Burmese grape India, China, SE
Asia
India, China, SE Asia F
19. Barringtonia
edulis
Lecythidaceae Cut nut NE New Guinea,
Vanuatu, Solomons,
Fiji
NE New Guinea,
Vanuatu, Solomons,
Fiji
B + Jebb & Wise (1992),
Yen (1995:839),
Walter & Sam
(1999:107)
20. Barringtonia
novae-hiberniae
Lecythidaceae Cut nut NE New
Guinea,Vanuatu,
Solomons
NE New
Guinea,Vanuatu,
Solomons
B + Jebb & Wise (1992),
Yen (1995:839),
Walter & Sam
(1999:110)
21. Barringtonia
procera
Lecythidaceae Cut nut NE New Guinea,
Vanuatu, Solomons
NE New Guinea,
Vanuatu, Solomons
B + Jebb & Wise (1992),
Yen (1995:839),
Walter & Sam
(1999:113)
22. Borassus
flabellifer
Palmae Palmyra palm,
sugar palm,
sea-apple
India, SE Asia Worldwide tropics A Whitmore (1979),
Tate (2000:36)
23. Bouea
macrophylla
Anacardiaceae Gandaria Malaysia, Indonesia SE Asia F Tate (2000:38)
24. Burckella fijiensis Sapotaceae Tortoise pear Fiji Fiji, Futuna D Walter & Sam
(1999:117)
6

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
25. Burckella obovata Sapotaceae Burckella Moluccas to
Vanuatu
Moluccas to Vanuatu B + 3200 BP,
Bismarcks
Walter & Sam
(1999:119)
26.
Canarium harveyi Burseraceae Canarium nut,
pili nut
Solomons to Tonga Solomons to Tonga B + Leenhouts (1965);
Whistler (1991:63),
Yen (1995:839),
Walter & Sam
(1999:125)
27. Canarium
indicum
Burseraceae Java almond Moluccas to
Vanuatu
Pan-Pacific B + 14,000 BP,
Sepik-Ramu
Leenhouts (1965),
Yen (1995:839),
Coronel (1996),
Spriggs (1997:55),
Walter & Sam
(1999:128)
28. Canarium
odontophyllum
Burseraceae Danau majang Malaysia and
Western Indonesia
Malaysia and Western
Indonesia
F Puri (2001:27)
29. Canarium ovatum Burseraceae Pili nut Philippines Philippines F Yen (1995:839),
Coronel (1996)
30. Canarium vulgare Burseraceae ? Sulawesi to the Aru
islands
Insular SE Asia, Sri
Lanka
B Yen (1995:839)
31. Carica papaya Caricaceae Pawpaw New World Worldwide tropics J Tate (2000:40), Puri
(2001:30)
32. Casimiroa edulis Sapotaceae Casimiroa,
white sapote
New World Worldwide tropics J Tate (2000:42)
33. Chrysophyllum
caimito
Sapotaceae Star apple West Indies Philippines J Fernandez (1997:18)
34. Citrus aurantifolia
Rutaceae Lime Northern Burma Worldwide tropics G Tate (2000:46)
35. Citrus hystrix Rutaceae Leech-lime Origin not known Thailand to Bismarck
archipelago
M Puri (2001:136)
36. Citrus macroptera Rutaceae Ghost-lime Thailand to New
Guinea
Introduced to
Solomons, Vanuatu,
New Caledonia
F Whistler (1991:56),
Walter & Sam
(1999:134)
37. Citrus maxima Rutaceae Shaddock,
pomelo
Malesia Worldwide tropics F Whistler (1991:56),
Tate (2000:48), Puri
7

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
(2001:137)
38.
Citrus reticulata Rutaceae Tangerine Malesia Worldwide tropics F Puri (2001:138)
39. Citrus sinensis Rutaceae Sweet orange South China, Việt
Nam
Worldwide tropics I Fernandez (1997:40)
40. Cocos nucifera Palmae Coconut Malesia? Worldwide tropics F + 5830 BP, New
Guinea, Sepik
Child (1974); Harries
(1990); Whistler
(1991:61), Fernandez
(1997:82), Puri
(2001:117)
41. Cordia subcordata Boraginaceae Sea trumpet Malesia
Pan-Pacific seashores
and adjacent lowlands
from east Africa to
Polynesia.
F 4250-4050 BP,
Bismarcks
Walter & Sam
(1999:135)
42. Corynocarpus
cribbianus
Corynocarpaceae Corynocarp North Queensland,
New Guinea,
Solomons
North Queensland,
New Guinea,
Solomons
C 3200 BP,
Bismarcks
Foreman (1978:111),
Walter & Sam
(1999:147)
43. Dimocarpus
longan
Sapindaceae Longan South China,
Myanmar
China, SE Asia I Tate (2000:54), Puri
(2001:139)
44. Diospyros blancoi Ebenaceae Mabolo,
butterfruit
Philippines SE Asia F Fernandez (1997:60),
Tate (2000:56)
45. Diospyros kaki Ebenaceae Persimmon China, Japan Worldwide tropics
except Africa
I Utsunomiya et al.
(1998), Tate
(2000:58)
46. Diospyros major Ebenaceae Fiji Persimmon Fiji ? Fiji, Tonga, Uvea and
Futuna
D Whistler (1991:52)
47. Dracontomelon
dao
Anacardiaceae New Guinea
walnut
India to Solomons India to Solomons A + Lepofsky (1992:209),
Walter & Sam
(1999:150)
48. Dracontomelon
lenticulatum = D.
edule
Anacardiaceae ? Malaysia Introduced into New
Guinea
F Walter & Sam
(1999:150)
49. Dracontomelon
vitiense
Anacardiaceae Dragon plum Bismarcks, Santa
Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji,
Samoa
Bismarcks, Santa
Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji,
Samoa
B + 3200 BP,
Bismarcks
Tryon (1994:27),
Walter & Sam
(1999:150)
8

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
50. Durio zibethinus Bombacaceae Durian Malaya, Indonesia Widespread in
mainland and island
SE Asia
F Foreman (1995:221-
270), Tate (2000:60)
51. Ficus scabra Moraceae Oceania fig New Caledonia to
Tonga and Samoa
New Caledonia to
Tonga and Samoa
B Walter & Sam
(1999:157)
52. Ficus tinctoria Moraceae Red dye fig India to the
Marquesas
India to the Marquesas A Whistler (1991:55),
Walter & Sam
(1999:161)
53.
Finschia
chloroxantha
Proteaceae Chrysocarp Moluccas to
Vanuatu, Palau, Aru
islands
Moluccas to Vanuatu,
Palau, Aru islands
B Croft (1981:13),
Walter & Sam
(1999:162)
54. Flacourtia rukam Flacourtiaceae Indian plum Malaysia to the
Solomons
China, SE Asia, Fiji,
Tonga, Carolines
F Walter & Sam
(1999:164)
55. Garcinia
mangostana
Clusiaceae Mangosteen Indochina Widespread in
mainland and island
SE Asia
G Fernandez (1997:70),
Tate (2000:62), Puri
(2001:76)
56. Gnetum gnemon Gnetaceae Spanish joint
fir
Assam to Fiji Introduced to Sumatra,
Java, Andaman islands
F + Walter & Sam
(1999:170)
57. Inocarpus fagifer Fabaceae Tahiti chestnut Java to Fiji Introductions to
Polynesia, Philippines,
Micronesia
F + 3200 BP,
Bismarcks
Whistler (1991:53),
Walter & Sam
(1999:172)
58. Lansium
domesticum
Meliaceae Langsat, Duku Malaysia, Indonesia Mainland SE Asia, S.
India, Philippines
F Fernandez (1997:56),
Tate (2000:64), Puri
(2001:89)
59. Litchi chinensis Sapindaceae Litchi South China/Việt
Nam
Worldwide tropics
except Africa
I Morton (1987:249–
259), Tate (2000:66)
60. Mangifera
altissima
Anacardiaceae Paho Indonesia,
Philippines,
Solomons
Indonesia, Philippines,
Solomons
F + Fernandez (1997:87)
61. Mangifera foetida Anacardiaceae Horse mango Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia
Introduced to southern
Myanmar, Cambodia
and Vietnam.
G Verheij & Coronel
(1992)
62. Mangifera indica Anacardiaceae Mango India, Burma Worldwide tropics G + Mukherjee (1972),
9

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
Fernandez (1997:64),
Tate (2000:68)
63. Mangifera minor Anacardiaceae Wild mango New Guinea,
Solomons
New Guinea,
Solomons
C
+
64. Mangifera
odorata
Anacardiaceae Kuwini, huani ? Malaya Insular and mainland
SE Asia
F Puri (2001:6)
65. Manilkara zapote Sapotaceae Sapodilla Central America Worldwide tropics
except Africa
J Fernandez (1997:22),
Tate (2000:70)
66. Morinda citrifolia Rubiaceae Indian
mulberry, noni,
cheesefruit
Disputed
Northern Australia/
Southeast Asia
Worldwide sea-coasts M Whistler (1991:56),
Groenendijk (1992),
Morton (1992), Tryon
(1994:500), Walter &
Sam (1999:193)
67. Muntingia
calabura
Elaeocarpaceae Aratiles,
capulin,
Jamaica cherry
Tropical America Philippines J Fernandez (1997:4)
68. Neisoperma
oppositifolium
Apocynaceae Twin apple ? Seychelles to the
Marquesas
M Walter & Sam
(1999:197)
69. Nephelium
lappaceum
Sapindaceae Rambutan Malaysia, Indonesia SE Asia F Tate (2000:74), Puri
(2001:143)
70. Pandanus
conoideus
Pandanaceae Red pandanus Moluccas, New
Guinea
Moluccas, New
Guinea, Bismarcks
C + Walter & Sam
(1999:199)
71. Pandanus dubius Pandanaceae Knob-fruited
screwpine
Malaysia to Vanuatu Malaysia to Vanuatu F + Walter & Sam
(1999:201)
72. Pandanus
jiulianettii
Pandanaceae Highand
pandanus
New Guinea New Guinea C 12,100 BP,
New Guinea,
Yuku
Walter & Sam
(1999:203)
73. Pandanus
tectorius
Pandanaceae Pacific
pandanus
Malaysia,
Philippines to
Austral islands, N
Australia
Malaysia, Philippines
to Austral islands, N
Australia
F Whistler (1991:61),
Walter & Sam
(1999:205)
74. Pangium edule Flacourtiaceae Payang, Pangi insular SE Asia Malaysia to Vanuatu F + 5800 BP, New
Guinea, Sepik,
Walter & Sam
(1999:208), Puri
10

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
Dongan (2001:67)
75.
Parartocarpus
venenosus
Moraceae ? Insular SE Asia,
Melanesia
M + Ross (1996:187)
76 Passiflora edulis Passifloraceae Passion fruit Brazil Worldwide tropics J Fernandez (1997:94),
Tate (2000:76)
77. Passiflora
quadrangularis
Passifloraceae Giant
granadilla
New World SE Asia J Morton (1987:328–
330), Fernandez
(1997:94), Tate
(2000:78)
78. Persea americana Lauraceae Avocado Central America Worldwide tropics J Fernandez (1997:8),
Tate (2000:80)
79. Phyllanthus
acidus
Euphorbiaceae Otaheite
gooseberry
? South Asia SE Asia H Jensen (2001:173)
80. Phyllanthus
emblica
Euphorbiaceae Indian
gooseberry
? Burma China, SE Asia G Jensen (2001:173)
81. Pithocellobium
dulce
Leguminosae
Madras thorn
fruit, Manila
tamarind
Central America Philippines J Fernandez (1997:20)
82. Pometia pinnata Sapindaceae Taun tree, Fiji
longan
Sri Lanka, Yunnan,
Samoa
SE Asia, pan-Pacific F 5800 BP, New
Guinea, Sepik,
Dongan
Walter & Sam
(1999:216)
83. Pouteria sapota Sapotaceae Marmelade
plum
Mexico Philippines, Vietnam J Morton (1987:398–
402), Fernandez
(1997:20)
84. Psidium guajava Myrtaceae Guava Mexico Worldwide tropics J Tate (2000:82), Puri
(2001:106)
85. Punica granatum Punicaceae Pomegranate Central Asia Old World tropics L Tate (2000:82),
Jensen (2001:181)
86. Salacca zalacca Palmae Snakefruit Indonesia Indonesia, Indo-China F Tate (2000:86), Puri
(2001:122)
87. Sandoricum
koetjape
Meliaceae Santol Indo-China Southeast Asia G Jensen (2001:183)
88. Spondias cytherea Anacardiaceae Ambarella, ? Pan-Pacific M + 4250-4050 BP, Whistler (1991:50),
11

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
(= S. dulcis) Tahiti apple Bismarcks,
Arawes,
Kumbun,
Apalo
Walter & Sam
(1999:223)
89.
Sterculia vitiensis Sterculiaceae Sterculia Vanuatu, Fiji Vanuatu, Fiji B Walter & Sam
(1999:234)
90. Syzygium
aqueum & S.
samarangense
Myrtaceae Water apple,
Curacao apple
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia F Fernandez (1997:62)
91. Syzygium cumini Myrtaceae Java plum,
Jambolan
India, Burma,
Andaman Islands
Worldwide tropics H Morton (1987: 375–
378), Fernandez
(1997:20)
92. Syzygium jambos Myrtaceae Rose apple,
Malabar plum
Malesia Worldwide tropics F Jensen (2001:195)
93. Syzygium
malaccense
Myrtaceae Malay apple ? SE Asia, pan-Pacific M Weisler (1991);
Whistler (1991:55),
Walter & Sam
(1999:236), Tate
(2000:88), Jensen
(2001:197)
94. Tamarindus
indica
Leguminosae Tamarind Africa Worldwide tropics K Gunasena & Hughes
(2000), Tate
(2000:90)
95. Terminalia
catappa
Combretaceae Indian almond,
sea almond
Malaysia Worldwide tropics F + 4250-4050 BP,
Bismarcks,
Arawes,
Kumbun,
Apalo
Coode (1978:72),
Morton (1985);
Whistler (1991:51),
Yen (1995:840),
Walter & Sam
(1999:240)
96. Terminalia
kaernbachii
Combretaceae Okari nut New Guinea, Aru
islands
introduction in the
Solomons
C Coode (1978:82), Yen
(1995:840), Walter &
Sam (1999:244)
97. Xanthophyllum Polygalaceae Kayu batu Western Indonesia Western Indonesia F Puri (2001:131)
12

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
No. Binomial Family English Origin Distribution Code LD? AD References
obscurum
98.
Ziziphus
mauritiana
Rhamnaceae Indian jujube,
Ber
India ? India, China, Mainland
SE Asia
H Pareek (2001)
Sources: Burkill (1966), Corner (1988), Verheij & Coronel (1992), McKee (1994), Fernandez (1997), Walter & Sam (1999), Tate (2000), Dy
Phon (2000), Puri (2001), Jensen (2001),
13

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
14
3. Origins and spread
3.1 Where do common fruits originate?
Table 2 provides a simplified analysis of the origins of the fruits cultivated today in the Indo-Pacific region.
I have used ‘Malesia’ as a catch-all category for trees domesticated in the large area between eastern India
and insular Southeast Asia.
Table 2. Sources of fruits currently grown in the Indo-Pacific region
Region of origin Code No.
Indo-Pacific A 4
Moluccas to Vanuatu B 10
New Guinea C 6
Fiji D 2
Micronesia E 0
Malesia F 36
Indochina G 6
India H 6
China I 4
New World J 16
Africa K 1
Europe/Central Asia L 1
Unknown M 6
98
An aspect of this study that deserves greater emphasis is the relative importance of arboriculture in the
Vanuatu/Solomons area, something noted by Douglas Yen some time ago (Yen 1974). A large number of
species seem to originate in the zone between the Solomons and western Polynesia, most still having quite a
limited distribution. It suggests they should be given considerably more linguistic and archaeological
attention.
3.2 Notes on individual species
The following text is intended to provide a brief commentary on some of the species tabulated here. I have
cited both the (somewhat variable) English and scientific names in the text, and in each case these are
referenced numerically to their entry in Table 1. Even scientific names are not very stable, witness the recent
change of Eugenia spp. to Syzygium spp., so I have tried to use the most recent ones available.
Solomons and Vanuatu
The most important species domesticated in this region are Barringtonia spp., the cutnuts (19, 20, 21) (Jebb
& Wise 1992). Yen (1995:839) notes evidence for the domestication of B. procera and B. novae-hiberniae
in the Solomons; B. novae-hiberniae is wild in New Guinea and the seeds are toxic. Ross (1996:213)
proposes *(w,v)ele as the proto-Oceanic form for these three species, whose vernacular names regularly
interchange. He notes that only Barringtonia novae-hiberniae would have been present in the Bismarcks at
the time of the split-up of proto-Oceanic and so the reconstruction must refer to this species. Still confined
largely to this zone, the cutnuts have been introduced into other regions such as New Guinea relatively
recently. Tryon (1994:488) quotes a reconstruction for proto-Philippines, *butun, although this is for another
species, Barringtonia asiatica, used principally as a fish-poison. Burckella obovata (25) is found from the

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
15
Moluccas to Vanuatu, including the Polynesian outliers Anuta, Rennell, Takuu and Tikopia (Biggs n.d.), and
has been introduced to Fiji and Tonga as a domesticate. Ross (1996) reconstructs *ñatu(q) for proto-
Oceanic, although related lexemes in Philippines languages refer to Palaquium spp. (Reid n.d.). The
corynocarps, almost all of which are eaten in times of famine, have been studied by Wagstaff & Dawson
(2000). Corynocarpus cribbianus (42) is recorded in the Bismarcks at 3200 BP (Kirch 1989:234). Although
found ‘wild’ throughout Melanesian lowland forests, the corynocarps are rarely cultivated today and their
presence may be a record of a period when they were once more intensively exploited.
The New Guinea walnut, Dracontomelon dao (47), might have been domesticated anywhere in Malesia but
is recorded in the Bismarcks 3200 BP (Kirch 1989:229). Intriguingly, given its previous importance, it is
hardly used in Mussau today (Lepofsky 1992:209). Blust has proposed a proto-Austronesian reconstruction
*daqu, which has a proto-Oceanic reflex *raqu(p) (Ross 1996:213) and is transferred to the dragon plum,
Dracontomelon vitiense (49), native to Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa (Walter & Sam 1999:274). The chrysocarp,
Finschia chloroxantha (53), seems to be indigenous to the Moluccas-Vanuatu region (including the Aru
islands), but has also been recorded from Palau. The sterculia, Sterculia vitiensis (89), is confined to
Vanuatu and Fiji.
The Spanish joint fir, Gnetum gnemon (56), is spread from Assam to Fiji and introduced in Java and
Sumatra. Ross (1996:191) notes a rather local reconstruction in Western Oceanic, *wayu. The edible
Gnetums are also very widespread across Africa and have been carried by human groups throughout the
equatorial rainforest, so it is it conceivable that the present-day wide distribution in the Indo-Pacific region is
partly anthropic.
Tree species with extensive archaeobotanical remains and considerable problems attached to their precise
identification are the Canarium spp. Yen (1994, 1995:839) shows the distribution of six domesticated and
additional large-seeded edible wild species Canarium species in the southwest Pacific (Table 3).
Table 3.Wild and domesticated Canarium spp. in the Indo-Pacific region
Status Section Group Species Distribution
Domestic Canarium Vulgare C. indicum Moluccas to Vanuatu
C. ovatum Northern Philippines
C. vulgare Eastern Indonesia
Maluense C. lamii North coast of New Guinea
C. salomonense Solomons, SE New Guinea, New Britain
C. harveyii Solomons to Tonga
Wild Pimela wild and cultivated species in insular and
mainland SE Asia, with C. australianum in SE
New Guinea and Australia
Wild Canariellum six species NE Australia, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands
Adapted from Yen (1995:839)
Two of the most widespread species, the pili nut, Canarium harveyi (26) and the Java almond, Canarium
indicum (27), occur across a wide area from the Moluccas to Vanuatu, and many related species also occur
in Southeast Asia (Walter, Sam & Bourdy 1994). The earliest dates are 14,000 BP in the Sepik-Ramu area,
but it is not possible to distinguish between species (Yen 1994). The Java almond (27), Canarium indicum,
appears to be indigenous to the region from Northern Sulawesi to Vanuatu and Ross (1996:213) cites the
reconstructions, proto-PCEMP, *kanaRi and proto-Oceanic *[ka]ŋari also noting reflexes in Central
Malayo-Polynesian. Kirch (1989:234) makes the interesting observation that the cultivated forms of the Java
almond correspond closely with the geographic distribution of the Lapita dispersal. Ross (1996:214) notes
two other terms for Canarium spp., proto-Oceanic *qalip and proto-West-Oceanic *pinuaq but does not
propose particular species are the referents.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
16
New Guinea
The breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis (11), was probably domesticated in New Guinea. Seeded breadfruit
appears to occur wild only in New Guinea where, along with breadnut, it is a dominant member of
secondary forests in lowland areas (Ragone 1997:18). It was carried to many regions of the Pacific in pre-
European times, but only introduced to the Philippines from Guam in the historical era (Barrau 1957;
Ragone 1991). Tryon (1994:486) quotes a reconstruction for proto-Austronesian, *kama(n)si, but this is
evidently suspect if the breadfruit was so recent in the Philippines and Taiwan. More probably the
Philippines name kamansi originally applied to another Artocarpus sp., shifted to the breadfruit and was then
taken to Taiwan. Blust (n.d.) suggests a quite different form for proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kulu(R), but even
this is problematic since it implies a spurious antiquity in the Philippines. These issues can only be resolved
with more detailed ethnobotanical data on the near relatives of the breadfruit. There are several other
Artocarpus spp. in the Malesian area, for example shiny tampang, A. nitidus, monkey jackfruit, A. rigidus
and marang, A. odoratissimus, cultivated locally for their fruits (Puri 2001:98-100).
Ross (1996:205) gives proto-Oceanic *padran for ‘coastal pandanus’ which, he observes, usually applies to
Pandanus tectorius (73) but is also a generic for Pandanus spp. in the Pacific. A second proto-Oceanic form,
*kiRe also applies to P. tectorius and is also attested at proto-Malayo-Polynesian level. The red pandanus,
Pandanus conoideus (70), and the highland pandanus, Pandanus jiulianettii (72), are confined to New
Guinea and parts of the Moluccas. Ross (1996:206-7) gives *pakum as proto-Oceanic for Pandanus dubius
and *m
w
a
N
a, probably for the red pandanus, P. conoideus. Parartocarpus venenosus (75), which occurs
widely throughout the region and is often compared to breadfruit. has a reconstruction in proto-Western
Oceanic, *lapuka (Ross 1996:187). The okari nut, Terminalia kaernbachii (96), occurs between the
Moluccas and New Guinea and has been carried to the Solomons in recent times.
Fiji
The tortoise-pear, Burckella fijiensis (24), is the most significant domesticate in Fiji and still confined to the
Fijian islands and Futuna. However, the Fiji persimmon, Diospyros major (46), seems also to originate in
Fiji and has subsequently spread to Tonga, Uvea and Futuna (Whistler 1991:52).
Malesia
The coral pea, Adenanthera pavonina (1), is apparently native to the Malesian region but was carried to
much of Melanesia in an unknown past era, although its introduction to Fiji, Polynesia and Micronesia is
apparently post-European (Walter & Sam 1999:80). Tryon (1994:485) proposes a reconstruction for proto-
North Central Vanuatu, *bisa. Walter & Sam (1999:83) claim that the candlenut, Aleurites moluccana (3),
only occurs wild in India, but evidence for candlenuts in Timor at 13,000 BP and on Morotai at 11,000 BP
rather suggests it is indigenous to a wider area. Archaeobotanical dates for the betel palm, Areca catechu
(10), are extremely old, although whether the nut was in use for chewing at 13,000 BP is open to question.
Mahdi (1998:405) has a useful discussion of the linguistic sources for betel chewing, noting that terms for
‘fruit’ in Austronesian (PAN *Buaq) are intertwined with those for areca nut, suggesting that it was
perceived as the fruit par excellence and notes that betel pepper (Piper betle) appears to have been borrowed
into Austronesian from Austroasiatic. The durian, Durio zibethinus (50), perhaps originating in insular SE
Asia, has only recently become a major traded fruit both east and west of its core area and most mainland
names reflect the Malay term durian. Other durians of more limited distribution are the Kutai durian, Durio
kutejensis, confined to Borneo, and the leaf durian, Durio oxleyanus, found in Malaysia and western
Indonesia (Puri 2001:23-4).

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
17
The mangos, Mangifera spp. (60, 61, 62, 63, 64), constitute an interesting problem. The mango proper,
Mangifera indica, originates in India or Burma but probably spread to Southeast Asia during the last two
millennia, and was subsequently carried around the Pacific in the post-European era (Ross 1996:210). One
of the Malay names, mempelam, is from Sanskrit via Tamil and etymologises as maha pahala, the ‘great
fruit’ (Tate 2000:68). The English name ‘mango’ is from a Sundanese word mangga, which in turn probably
derives from Sanskrit via Tamil and this suggests that India was the source of the domestic plant (Mukherjee
1972). Li (1994:246) shows that the mango must have been brought to Taiwan from the Philippines, along
with the persimmon. The reconstruction *pau(q) in proto-Oceanic, cognate with PMP *pahuq for Mangifera
sp. (Blust n.d.), probably applies to the paho, Mangifera altissima (60), and not M. indica, as this would
place it in the Austronesian region too early. Other reconstructions for proto-Oceanic are *wai(wai) as
‘generic’ for Mangifera spp. and *koRa, given as ‘wild’ mango, Mangifera minor (63) (Ross 1996:209). The
fourth mango, Mangifera foetida, seems to be confined to Southeast Asia and virtually no linguistic data are
available. The origin of the kuwini, Mangifera odorata (64), is disputed, but may be Malaysia; it is now
distributed widely throughout the mainland and islands of SE Asia. Other highly local cultivated mangoes in
this region include Mangifera quadrifida and M. pajang, the sherbert mango (Puri 2001:5,7).
The Tahiti chestnut, Inocarpus fagifer (57), is one of the most widespread fruits in the Pacific and was
probably carried from the Moluccas and Eastern Indonesia throughout Polynesia and Melanesia, with post-
European introductions to Micronesia and the Philippines. Ross (1996:215) cites proto-Oceanic *(q)ipi, but
the Philippines cognates (*ipi(l)) appear to refer to another plant, Intsia bijugata (Reid in press). The names
for Tahiti chestnut in Polynesian languages also suggest some crossover with the Tahiti apple, Spondias
cytherea (88). The twin apple, Neisosperma oppositifolium (68) occurs from the Seychelles to the
Marquesas, but it has been shown to float on ocean currents, so this may be the explanation for its broad
distribution.
The exact origin of the Malay apple, Syzygium malaccense (93), is unknown, but it is now found from
Indochina to the Austral islands, and was presumably carried through the region at a very early period,
although Captain Bligh was responsible for carrying it to Jamaica. Weisler (1991) records its use in house
construction in Hawai’i in the proto-historic period. Ross (1996:211) reconstructs *kapika for proto-Oceanic
and some of these forms look cognate with those in Philippine languages (Reid in press). However, the
names in Thai, chompoo, and Khmer, chumpu krâhâ:m, are transparently borrowed from Malay jambu,
suggesting that it has only recently been traded and grown in the interior of the mainland. The forms for the
rose apple, Syzygium jambos (92), are quite distinct in the Philippines, suggesting that both reconstructions
will separate out when the data are more complete. The sea almond, Terminalia catappa (95), probably
originated in Malaysia and has been carried to all tropical regions in post-contact times (Morton 1985;
Whistler 1991:51). Linguistic evidence suggests it was well-known to the early Austronesians. Ross
(1996:215) cites proto-Oceanic *talise, and Dempwolff (1938) *talisay for proto-Malayo-Polynesian, a form
with extensive Philippines cognates (Reid in press).
The Indian plum, Flacourtia rukam (54) is native to the region from Malaysia to the Solomons but has been
widely distributed to both the Southeast Asian mainland, India, China and the Polynesian islands, west of the
Solomons. The knob-fruited screwpine, Pandanus dubius (71), occurs from the east coast of Malaysia to
Vanuatu, but curiously, was never carried to Polynesia and is only cultivated on Vanuatu. The most
widespread pandanus is the Pacific pandanus, Pandanus tectorius (73), whose exact taxonomy remains
debated. At the western end of of its range it shades into P. odoratissima. Its many subtypes are probably the
result of widespread and ancient cultivation, although the cultivars are most diverse at the extreme end of its
range in the Marshalls and Kiribati. Blust (n.d.) reconstructs a form *pa
N
dan for proto-Malayo-Polynesian
and Ross (1996:205) gives proto-Oceanic *padran. Cognates occur on Taiwan, but in Formosan languages
the term is now applied to ‘pineapple’ in most languages, implying a recent transfer of the referent. The
pangi, Pangium edule (74), occurs from Indochina to Vanuatu and was carried to Micronesia in the post-
European era. Blust (n.d.) quotes a PMP reconstruction *pa’i.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
18
The taun, Pometia pinnata (82), is indigenous to a broad zone from Sri Lanka to Vanuatu with outliers in
South China and Indochina, and was later carried to further Polynesia in the post-European era. Kirch
(1989:236) who recorded the taun in the Mussau islands at 3200 BP notes its coincident distribution with the
Lapita area, like the Java almond (27). Ross (1996:212) reconstructs *tawan for proto-Oceanic (hence the
name of the tree) and this clearly has cognates in Philippines languages. Li (1994:264) proposes a proto-
Austronesian reconstruction for the taun, *cayi, but some of Li’s forms, such as Amis kowawi, are cognate
with Philippines witnesses such as Tagalog kayawi, warranting a different reconstruction. The sea-trumpet,
Cordia subcordata (40), is apparently native to Malesia but has been spread throughout the Pacific and
along Indian Ocean seashores and adjacent lowlands from east Africa to Polynesia.
India
Fruits seem to have been transmitted from India both at an early period and in the historical era. The Indian
jujube, Ziziphus mauritiana (102), may have reached Southeast Asia earlier than the main period of Indian
influence. Although cultivated in many places, it is now regarded as ‘wild’ fruit in Yunnan, for example (Jin
et al. 1999). Archaeological evidence for trade between India and the Southeast Asian region dates from the
fourth century BC, and Indian pottery has been found on Bali from the 1st century BC onwards (Bellwood
1997: 294). The Hindu religious influence on the Southeast Asian region dates from the sixth century and
fruits brought at this time include the bael, Aegle marmelos (2), the bignay, Antidesma bunius (9), the
jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus (12) and the mango, Mangifera indica (62). These fruits often bear some
recognisable version of a Sanskrit name; the bael, for example, is known in Java as majapahit (Sanskrit
‘great’ + ‘bitter’), a term later applied to the 14
th
century Javanese Empire. The Malay name of the bignay,
berunai, may be the origin of the names of both Brunei and Borneo (Tate 2000:24). The candlenut (3) grows
wild in South India and seems to have been spread from there to Pakistan, China, north-eastern Australia, the
Philippines, Malaysia, and all the islands from Sumatra to Tonga, including New Caledonia (Walter & Sam
1999:84). Whistler (1991:52) claims that it was spread into Polynesia at an early period. Although the sugar
palm, Borassus flabellifer (22), is probably indigenous to Malesia as well as India, the Malay name, lontar,
derives from Sanskrit (pala ‘palm’ + ron ‘leaf’) because the dried leaves of this species were preferred for
writing (Tate 2000:36). It must also have been carried to Africa at a very early period, as it has long been
regarded as indigenous under its synonym, B. aethiopum. The red dye fig (52) is only eaten in certain
locations, but seems to have been introduced into Tokelau for its edible fruits (Whistler 1991:55). Although
the tamarind, Tamarindus indica (94), was domesticated in Africa, it was carried to India prior to 1300 BC,
to judge from charcoal analyses and literary references (Blench 2003:284). Literary references suggest that it
only spread to Java and the rest of Southeast Asia in the medieval period (Gunasena & Hughes 2000).
China
Given its size and the overall importance of agriculture, China has domesticated few fruits overall and even
fewer that have had a major impact on the arboriculture of regions further south. One fruit in particular, the
sweet orange (39), has become of world significance, but others, such as the longan, Dimocarpus longan
(43) and the litchi, Litchi chinensis (59), have recently begun to enter world trade on a significant scale.
Morton (1987:249–259) observes that the litchi was first mentioned in Chinese literature in the 11
th
century
and was carried around the region in the later Middle Ages. The persimmon, Diospyros kaki (45) is native to
Japan, China, Burma and the Himalayas and Khasi Hills of northern India. Ng (1978) argued that it arose
from Diospyros roxburghii on the China/Burman borderland, but Yonemori et al. (1998) show that the
persimmon is monophyletic with the subtropical species, Diospyros ehretioides.
New World
A significant number of fruits that are important today in the Indo-Pacific region are of New World origin.
The great majority were brought by the Portuguese and Spanish in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
19
The Spanish connection to the Philippines brought a number of species which were then subsequently
distributed around Southeast Asia, such as the aratiles, Muntingia calabura (67). The sapodilla, Manilkara
zapote (65), from Central America, came with Amerindian names, so that Aztec chiki became Malay chiku
(and also chiclet for chewing-gum). The custard apple group, Annona spp. (6, 7, 8) are known in the
Philippines as anonas, which suggests some confusion with the pineapple, ananas. The Malay names for
soursop, Annona muricata (6), are durian belanda and durian mekah (i.e. Dutch or Meccan durian), but also
nangka manila (Manila jackfruit), suggesting that the soursop arrived in Malaya from two directions. The
guava, Psidium guajava (84), seems to have been brought separately by the Portuguese and Spanish. One
Malay name, jambu portugis, compares the guava to the rose apple, Syzygium jambos (92), and also points
to the Portuguese connection, although the guava was also introduced by the Spanish to the Philippines.
Table 4 shows some names of Southeast Asian fruits that derive from Amerindian languages.
Table 4. SE Asian fruit names derived from Amerindian languages
Southeast Asian
name
Amerindian
name
Species No. Language Term Language Term
pineapple 5 Portuguese ananas Tupi-Guarani nanas 'pleasant-
smelling'
sweetsop 8 Tagalog atis Aztec ahate
sapodilla 69 Malay chiku Aztec chiki
avocado 82 Thai avocado Aztec ahuacatl
Madras thorn
fruit
85 Tagalog kamatsili Nahuatl cuaumochitl
guava 90 Tagalog bayaba ?
A wide variety of fruits were introduced in the twentieth century through missionaries, and latterly
agricultural projects. One of the most notable of these is the avocado, Persea americana (78), which might
have been brought by the Spanish but seems to be recent, to judge by vernacular names. In the Philippines,
present-day varieties derive from the United States Bureau of Agriculture and were brought in 1903
(Fernandez 1997:8). The caimito, Chrysophyllum caimito (33), is of similar origin and date. The
pomegranate, Punica granatum (85), ancient in Central Asia, is a twentieth century introduction in Southeast
Asia.
Unknown
The origin of the coconut, Cocos nucifera (40) is much disputed; it was formerly claimed that it originated in
the New World because its nearest botanical relatives are located there. Harries (1990, Website 3) argues
that its origin lies in Malesia and the distribution of Cocos spp. is a relic of the splitting-up of
Gondwanaland. Zizumbo-Villareal & Quero (1998) in a re-examination of the earliest Spanish sources,
argue that it was definitely present on the west coast of Central America in the pre-Spanish era, although
they remain agnostic about whether this was a result of human intervention or simply transport by ocean
currents. The very early dates for coconut in the Sepik (see Table 1) show that it had been distributed much
prior to Austronesian expansion, although whether by human transport or chance floatation is unclear. Ross
(1996:195) quotes a reconstruction *niuR for coconut in proto-Oceanic, Wolff (1994:533) proposes ñiyu
ƒ
and Mahdi (1998:395) *ni
´
uR for proto-Philippines. There are also many local reconstructions for stages of
coconuts growing or being processed. Mahdi (1998:396) argues that the coconut was carried to Sri Lanka
and India prior to the 2
nd
century BC and that by the 5
th
century it was known to the Greeks, who borrowed
the name argellia from Sanskrit nārikela.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
20
The leech-lime, Citrus hystrix (35), is found throughout the region and may be the referent of the proto-
Oceanic *molis (Ross 1996:210) although this could also be the ghost-lime, Citrus macroptera (36). The
vernacular terms for the ghost-lime are highly diverse in the Philippines, suggesting it is a more recent
introduction there (Reid in press). The ghost-lime (36) presently occurs from Thailand to Micronesia and
Polynesia (Walter & Sam 1999:134). It has clearly been carried by human action throughout much of its
range but its precise origin remains unknown. Mahdi (1998:409) sees the widespread forms in Malayo-
Polynesian of the type limaw as metathesising in Oceanic to produce *moli but it is still unclear exactly to
which Citrus sp. this might refer. Not all linguists would accept such a metathesis without a mechanism to
explain it. The shaddock, Citrus maxima (37), is also referred to by the term *moli, but this reached only as
far as Tonga in pre-European times. Blust (n.d.) quotes a reconstruction of *muntay for PMP ‘kind of citrus
tree and its fruit’, which could be either of these.
The Tahiti apple, Spondias cytherea (88), is presently spread from Malaysia to the Marquesas and was
carried to Hawai’i and elsewhere in the world in post-European times. Ross (1996:210) gives a
reconstruction of *quRis for proto-Oceanic. Its origin is much disputed, with Whistler (1991:50) giving
Indo-Malaysia, while Walter & Sam (1999:223) canvas a range of other possibilities but conclude that it is
unknown. In Melanesia, it is generally a gathered forest species, but it was cultivated in Polynesia, and its
names, wi/vi and variants thereof, mark its transport from island to island as the expansion took place.
Fruits that originate in Australia are rare, partly because fruit culture was of limited interest to the
inhabitants. However, one of the most widespread fruits in the Pacific, and which has spread to India, the
Seychelles and the Caribbean, was the noni or Indian mulberry, Morinda citrifolia (66), which Walter &
Sam (1999:193) claim originated in Northern Australia, the home of many related species. However, Morton
(1992:241) points out that the noni can spread on ocean currents and has become established along sea-
coasts in many parts of the world and it may also originate in Southeast Asia (Morton 1992; Websites 1,2).
Its importance as fruit, dye and medicinal plant clearly made it a priority with early navigators (Dittmar
1993). Two reconstructions to proto-Oceanic exist, *ñoñum and *kurat (Ross 1996:211), possibly referring
separately to the fruit and the red dye obtained from its roots. A quite different root has been reconstructed in
proto-Philippines, *ba
N
kudu (cf. Reid in press), arguing that the tree must have been of interest early in the
expansion of the Austronesians.
A minor mystery in this region worth noting is the distribution of the baobab or boab (Adansonia spp.).
Baobabs are members of the Bombacaceae, a pantropical family containing a number of better-known
economically important plants like kapok, balsa wood, and durian. Six of the eight species of baobabs are
restricted to western and southern Madagascar, a seventh is endemic to northwestern Australia, and the
eighth is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa but now introduced by humans throughout the warm tropics
(Armstrong 1983). It has been speculated that the Australian boab may have originated from seed pods
carried for food by seafarers from Madagascar or Africa, although at what period this might have been and
why the baobab remains isolated in Australia is unclear (Blench in press).
3.3 Who was moving fruit trees around?
The linguistic data cited in this paper are far from complete, but they do suggest that the expanding
Austronesians encountered a large number of fruiting trees that had already been translocated from their
area of origin. Remarkably, many species seem to have travelled in a contrary direction, especially in insular
Southeast Asia. By this I mean that they seem not to follow the usually accepted direction of demographic
expansion of early Austronesian, south and east from Taiwan; indeed a surprising number of species appear
to have moved in the opposite direction. A significant number of economic trees can be reconstructed to
quite a high level in Austronesian, but this does not mean that they were domesticated by, for example,
speakers of proto-North Philippines. Many species domesticated in the Moluccas to Vanuatu region and
were apparently effectively distributed throughout much of the Austronesian zone prior to its expansion.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
21
Recent ethnographic evidence for the importance attached to fruit culture suggests that popular species
spread extremely quickly; the New World imports, such as pineapple, guava and sweetsop are all well-
established throughout the region and are now regarded as ‘indigenous’.
One explanation is that many species were not initially spread by the Austronesians but by the former
inhabitants of insular Southeast Asia. Promising fruiting and other useful trees were moved from one island
to another, just as animals were translocated (Flannery & White 1991), to provide low-management food
sources. This is not only the case with trees; yams seem to have undergone a parallel movement. Spriggs
(1997) has discussed the surprisingly early settlement of island Melanesia and the movement of likely food
resources using still unknown maritime technology. The evidence from fruit trees suggest that the
Pleistocene and early Holocene populations were very active long before the Austronesian expansion
(Spriggs 1993; Yen 1995).
4. Conclusions
4.1 Summary
This paper has focused on the very large number of fruit trees found in the East Asian/Pacific region which
are not just exploited in the wild, but intentionally planted and cultivated, though often not domesticated to
the point where morphological change becomes evident. Particularly in the Pacific, where island floras tend
to be very depauperate, human intervention has moved numerous species from island to island, often
allowing unfashionable species to become wild, making it difficult to determine the ‘natural’ range of such
species. Although fruit trees are the focus of this paper, trees and indeed many other plants were moved for a
wide variety of other reasons, including flowers, perfumes, medicines, barkcloth and timber.
Biogeography is presently the main means to determine the area of origin of particular species, but this is an
uncertain tool at best, partly because post-European vegetation change has been so marked in certain places,
but also because naturalisation of many species makes their ‘wild’ status difficult to determine. No doubt,
DNA studies in the future will improve the quality of the database; in the meantime assertions as to the
region of origin of fruit species should be treated with appropriate scepticism.
Approaching the study of fruit trees from an ethnographic standpoint also underlines the divide with
archaeobotany. Ethnographic accounts of the identity, distribution and uses of plant species in the present or
recent past can be meshed with biogeography to explore the likelihood that particular species were
translocated, as opposed to being indigenous. Such ethnographic mapping should also correlate with the
evidence from vernacular names, as there is a strong relationship between cultural salience and the
persistence of specific roots across a wide geographic and linguistic space. To date, archaeobotanical
confirmation for the hypotheses that underlie biogeographical assertions remains slight; identified species
are few and dates are sometimes late. No doubt more evidence will gradually come to light, but in the mean
time, careful descriptive work on plant use has a substantial contribution to make to the reconstruction of
prehistoric subsistence.
4.2 An expanded role for arboriculture?
Although difficult to substantiate on a quantitative basis, in comparison to Europe and Africa, the role of
arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific region is exceptional in global terms. This in turn argues that we should be
rewriting the history of agriculture, balancing useful trees against the cereals and tubers that normally
dominate the textbooks. At present, evidence for the scale of human activity in moving economic trees
comes mainly from biogeography. Linguistic studies have made some contribution, especially in the
Austronesian area, but richer hypotheses might be derived from existing information.

Roger Blench. History of fruits in the East Asia/ Pacific region
22
There is something else, however, more speculative, but worth noting. Some areas inhabited by large
language groupings do seem to exhibit cultural biases for or against fruit cultivation. Africa is a good
example of a whole region, where, except for Ethiopia, fruit plays little or no role in either eating
preferences or cultural life. In most areas of West-Central Africa, fruit-eating is regarded as a low-status
activity fit only for children; only very recently have introduced crops such as oranges and mangoes begun
to be widely consumed. This cultural bias shows up persistently in agronomic research; cereals and tubers
are heavily emphasised and trees largely ignored. This situation contrasts strongly with, say, South America,
where fruiting trees play a major role in the subsistence and ceremonial life of many Amerindian groups. In
the Indo-Pacific region, arboriculture is a central activity and its peoples attribute high cultural value to fruit
and the pattern of adoption and domestication in the area is striking enough to need an explanatory
framework rather richer than those at present available.
This synthesis points to one very obvious imbalance; the significant body of work on island Southeast Asia
and the Pacific and the relative absence of studies of the mainland, whether linguistic, ethnographic or
archaeobotanical. This partly results from the very different political histories of these regions since the
1950s and partly because of different scholarly traditions. Archaeology has tended to direct resources to
monuments, anthropologists are engaged in slow suicide and linguists have concentrated on languages with
scripts. It is to be hoped that the coming decades will see a significant re-orientation in these areas.
Acknowledgments
This paper was first delivered at the 17
th
IPPA Congress in Taipei, September 2002 and I would like to thank
the Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation of Taiwan for sponsoring my travel to the IPPA. I would like to thank
Kyle Latinis for a copy of his PhD thesis on disc which he kindly gave me at the IPPA meeting. I have had a
number of comments subsequently which have been incorporated or at least responded to in the text. Thanks
also to an anonymous referee who pointed out a number of internal contradictions which I hope I have now
remedied.
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