the buah cheri tree

in our kampong days, the buah cheri tree was a source of nourishment as well as a means to boyhood fun. the buah cheri tree is not as sturdy as the guava tree. the buah cheri is a small, evergreen spreading tree that seldom grows taller than 9m. its branches are rather feeble and we normally would not climb up the tree to pick the fruit.

the bark is stringy and the branches appear to be in layers; old twigs are reddish-brown and new ones are hairy. the round berries, about 1 cm across, are green ripening to red. they are fleshy and filled with many tiny, pale seeds and are quite sweet and pleasant to eat. they attract birds and fruit bats as well as children. growing rapidly, the buah cheri tree makes good temporary shade for new gardens.

the fruit, when unripe, is green and hard and it serves as very good ammunition for the wooden gun or rifle which we boys fashioned and made ourselves. the wooden gun has a clip to hold the stalk of the fruit. one end of a rubber band is hooked over the round berry. when the lever is triggered, it will release the rubber band and the berry will be propelled towards its target.

nowadays, you do not see the buah cheri tree grown in a man-made environment. however, you can still find them growing in the wild. when i walked through the kranji trail, i saw a couple of these trees at the edge of the secondary forest.