Tabigi
Xylocarpus granatum · Cannonball mangrove
- Names in the book
- Tabigi, Nigi, Kalumpag̃ sa lati, Tag.; Migi, Pam.
- Used for
- FeverDiarrhea and dysentery
- Colours
- flowerwhite, creamfruitbrown
- Native range
- Mangroves from East Africa to the Pacific
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common throughout the Archipelago.
- Family
- Meliaceae, filed in the book under Meliaceæ
- Printed as
- Carapa Moluccensis, Lam. (Xylocarpus granatum, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 78 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The book prints Carapa moluccensis and gives Xylocarpus granatum as the same tree. Tabigi is Xylocarpus granatum.
The plant today
Xylocarpus granatum, commonly known as the cannonball mangrove, cedar mangrove, or puzzlenut tree, is a species of mangrove in the mahogany family (Meliaceae). It is found in Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It is a common species of mangrove, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Excerpt from “Xylocarpus granatum” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 126 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 9 provinces, most often Palawan (13), Sarangani (5), Cagayan (3), Aklan (3), Quezon (2), Surigao del Sur (2), Negros Occidental (1), Romblon (1), and 1 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 seeds contain a yellow oil, bitter and astringent, with a characteristic odor, having a taste somewhat resembling the odor. In decoction they are used for diarrhœa and dysentery, on account, doubtless, of the tannin they contain. The dose is 1–2 seeds dried, pounded and infused with 200 grams of sweetened water.
The bark, also bitter, is said to be useful in fevers.
In America they extract an oil from the species of the C. Guianensis, Aubl., with which the negroes anoint themselves to keep away stinging insects. Wood soaked in this oil is also proof against insects.
Botanical description
This tree, 20° high, grows in swampy districts. Leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate. Two pairs of wedge-shaped leaflets, entire and glabrous. Petiole very short. Calyx inferior, 4–5-toothed. Corolla, 4–5 concave petals, slightly notched at the end. Nectary notched, ovate, 8–9-toothed. No filaments. Anthers equal in number to the teeth of the nectary and inserted between them. Ovary very thick, globose. Stigma shield-shaped. Drupe globose, resembling a very large orange, 5 chambers, each containing 1, 2 or more seeds, convex on one side and concave on the other, angular and much crowded. Testa hard and porous.
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.
- Computer-aided unveiling molecular mechanisms of Xylocarpus granatum against colorectal cancer: therapeutic intervention targeting P13K-AKT signaling pathway
- Hainanxylogranolides A-F: New Limonoids isolated from the seeds of Hainan mangrove plant Xylocarpus granatum
- Computational exploration of compounds in Xylocarpus granatum as a potential inhibitor of Plasmodium berghei using docking, molecular dynamics, and DFT studies