Bignay Season

Clusters of bignay fruit.

I vaguely recall my mother once telling me years ago that the tree in our backyard was a bignay tree (Antidesma bunius). I tucked that detail away and forgot about it, until recently, when the tree suddenly bore fruit after decades of silence. By my estimate, it’s more than twenty years old. The only explanation I can think of is that a nearby male bignay finally matured, allowing local pollinators to do their work. Since bignay is dioecious, it needs both male and female trees to reproduce.

Although I don’t encounter bignay often, it isn’t entirely unfamiliar. I could see trees heavy with clusters of red-to-dark purple fruit in my neighborhood in Quezon City, near La Mesa Eco Park. As a designated biodiversity center, the park likely planted bignay deliberately to support wildlife and enrich the watershed.

I harvest the ripe fruits little by little since they do not all ripen at the same time. I keep the ripe fruits in a container and freeze them. That way, I can keep them fresh without getting past their prime.

Now, with my first harvest in hand, I’m not quite sure what to do. Part of me wants to experiment, perhaps a small fermentation trial using wild yeast, or maybe make vinegar out of it. I don't really want to bother picking the fruits that are high up ion the tree since I only have a short ladder and I don't think the branches of the tree are that sturdy. I will just gather whatever I can and make the most of what I have. Hopefully, this will be the start of a yearly tradition of making something from my bignay harvest.

I also plan to try propagating from seed, just to see if I can. It feels like a fitting way to honor a tree that has waited so long to surprise me. Wish me luck.

Ripe bignay fruits (for freezing).