Culture and folk medicine Durian

durian fruit armed sharp thorns, capable of drawing blood.



singapore s esplanade building, nicknamed durian



pusat sains negara, kuala lumpur.

the durian commonly known king of fruits , label can attributed formidable , overpowering odour. in native southeastern asia, durian everyday food , portrayed in local media in accordance cultural perception has in region. durian symbolised subjective nature of ugliness , beauty in hong kong director fruit chan s 2000 film durian durian (榴槤飄飄, lau lin piu piu), , nickname reckless lovable protagonist of eponymous singaporean tv comedy durian king played adrian pang. likewise, oddly shaped esplanade building in singapore (theatres on bay) called durian locals, , big durian nickname of jakarta, indonesia.

a durian falling on person s head can cause serious injuries because heavy, armed sharp thorns, , can fall significant height. wearing hardhat recommended when collecting fruit. alfred russel wallace writes death ensues it, because copious effusion of blood prevents inflammation might otherwise take place. common saying durian has eyes , can see falling because fruit allegedly never falls during daylight hours when people may hurt. saying in indonesian, ketiban durian runtuh, translates getting durian avalanche , equivalent of english phrase windfall gain . nevertheless, signs warning people not linger under durian trees found in indonesia. strong nylon or woven rope nettings strung between durian trees in orchards, serving threefold purpose: nets aid in collection of mature fruits, deter ground-level scavengers, , importantly, prevent durians falling onto people.

a naturally spineless variety of durian growing wild in davao, philippines, discovered in 1960s; fruits borne these seeds lacked spines. since bases of scales develop spines fruit matures, spineless durians produced artificially scraping scales off immature fruits. in malaysia, spineless durian clone d172 registered agriculture department on 17 june 1989. called durian botak (bald durian). in indonesia, ir sumeru ashari, head of durian research centre, universitas brawijaya reported spineless durian kasembon, malang. cultivar lombok, nusa tenggara barat, indonesia.

animals such sumatran elephants , tigers known consume durians.

one of names thailand contributed list of storm names western north pacific tropical cylones durian , retired after second storm of name in 2006. being fruit loved variety of wild beasts, durian signifies long-forgotten animalistic aspect of humans, in legend of orang mawas, malaysian version of bigfoot, , orang pendek, sumatran version, both of have been claimed feast on durians.

folk medicine

in malaysia, decoction of leaves , roots used prescribed antipyretic. leaf juice applied on head of fever patient. complete description of medicinal use of durian remedies fevers malay prescription, collected burkill , haniff in 1930. instructs reader boil roots of hibiscus rosa-sinensis roots of durio zibethinus, nephelium longan, nephelium mutabile , artocarpus integrifolia, , drink decoction or use poultice.

southeast asian traditional beliefs, traditional chinese medicine, consider durian fruit have warming properties liable cause excessive sweating. traditional method counteract pour water empty shell of fruit after pulp has been consumed , drink it. alternative method eat durian in accompaniment mangosteen, considered have cooling properties. pregnant women or people high blood pressure traditionally advised not consume durian.

the javanese believe durian have aphrodisiac qualities, , impose set of rules on may or may not consumed or shortly thereafter. saying in indonesian, durian jatuh sarung naik, meaning durian falls , sarong comes , refers belief. warnings against supposed lecherous quality of fruit spread west – swedenborgian philosopher herman vetterling commented on so-called erotic properties of durian in 20th century.