Talisay
Terminalia catappa · Tropical almond
- Names in the book
- Talisay, Tag.; Almendro, Sp.-Fil.; Talisay, Banilak, Nato, Hitam, Vis.; Kalisay, Pam.; Lugo, Pandan, Iloc.; Indian Almond, Indo-Eng.
- Colours
- flowerwhitefruitgreen, red
- Native range
- Tropical Asia to the Pacific
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common in Luzon. In Manila it is cultivated extensively as an ornamental tree, especially along the Sabana Walk, General Solano Ave. and in Sampaloc and Malacañan.
- Family
- Combretaceae, filed in the book under Combretaceæ
- Printed as
- Terminalia Catappa, L. (T. molucana, Lam.; T. mauriciana, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 110 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almond, tropical almond, beach almond and false kamani. The species epithet is based on its Malay name ketapang.
Excerpt from “Terminalia catappa” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Para sa ibang gamit, tingnan ang talisay (paglilinaw) at almendro (paglilinaw). Ang talisay o almendro (pangalang pang-agham: Terminalia catappa; Ingles: shade tree) ay isang malaking puno na nasa pamilyang Combretaceae. Pinagtatalunan ang pinagmulan ng punong ito, na maaaring mula sa India, tangway ng Malay, o New Guinea.
Sipi mula sa “Talisay” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 378 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 43 provinces, most often Metropolitan Manila (43), Davao Oriental (27), Palawan (19), Davao del Sur (14), Davao del Norte (13), Aklan (12), Batangas (11), Cebu (11), and 35 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste. It yields about 50% of a fixed oil, sweet and savory. If left for some time, it deposits an abundance of stearin. It closely resembles oil of sweet almonds for which it, as well as the oil of Pili (Canarium commune, L.), which we have already described, makes a good substitute.
The trunk bark is astringent and in decoction is used for atonic diarrhœa and as a lotion for ulcers.
Decoction.—
[table omitted; see the source text]
To be given by the tablespoonful in 24 hours.
Botanical description
A tree, 6–8 m. high. Branches horizontal and radiating from the trunk. Leaves purplish, bunched, cleft at the base, sometimes transversely ovate, sometimes oval, notched, glabrous. Petiole very short. Flowers axillary, racemose, with a scale at the base of the peduncle, some hermaphrodite and others lacking pistils. Staminate flowers: calyx downy within, with 5 lobes. Corolla wanting. Stamens 10, inserted on the calyx. Hermaphrodite flowers: pistil same length as stamens. Drupe, fleshy, inferior, oval with the borders turned upward containing a very hard and fibrous nut; seed long and sharp-pointed.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Terminalia catappa aqueous leaf extract reverses insulin resistance, improves glucose transport and activates PI3K/AKT signalling in high fat/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
- Sustainable food packaging: Harnessing biowaste of Terminalia catappa L. for chitosan-based biodegradable active films for shrimp storage
- Biogenic Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Mediated by the Extract of Terminalia catappa Fruit Pericarp and Its Multifaceted Applications