Kepel fruit is a rare and forbidden fruit

Hi Hive Lovers

Once upon a time, in ancient times, in several kingdoms on the island of Java (before Indonesia's independence), this plant could only be planted around royal palaces. Only royal princesses are allowed to consume the fruit.

The Kepel tree is a favorite plant for royal princesses because of its special philosophical value of combining mental and physical health for the beauty of royal princesses.

#Kepel fruit has a very fragrant smell and is a natural perfume for royal princesses. They have to appear perfect in front of anyone. Their breath, sweat, and urine will smell good after eating this fruit. The flowers from this tree are also used as the main ingredient in making deodorant to get rid of body odor, as well as being used as body perfume for royal princesses. In addition, part of the tree is also believed to be a means of contraception and sterility for royal women.

The kingdom forbade their common people to plant kepel trees and eat the kepel fruit. The kepel plant only became a royal plant, and its fruit became the "Forbidden Fruit".

---

---

Currently, this kepel plant is no longer a forbidden plant. Even so, there are still some people who consider this fruit to be forbidden, and there is still an opinion that the Kepel tree is a palace tree or a royal princess's palace tree. Some people still feel afraid that they will suffer misfortune if they plant trees or consume their fruit.

This is also the first time I have seen this kepel plant and fruit directly. I found this plant in an education and training complex owned by a state agency where I work. But the fact is that this plant really has become rare. Rarely do you find kepel trees or people selling their fruit in markets.

From the explanation of the park staff at the education and training site that I attended, I received information that this rare kepel plant can also be found in several other places, including in The Yogyakarta Palace area, in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in Jakarta, at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Kebun Raya Bogor-West Java, in Kiayi Langgeng Park in Magelang, and in the Mekarsari Fruit Park in Bogor-West Java.

Wikipedia mentions this plant as "Kepel," in Bahasa, also called "Burahol," or in Latin it is called Stelechocarpus Burahol, and this plant has been officially designated as the flora of the identity of the Special Region of Yogyakarta.

#Yogyakarta is a unique province that has a privilege because the royal system is still used and continues to this day. The King, or Sultan of Yogyakarta (in Bahasa), has been hereditary and automatically served as governor there.

The Kepel tree is a plant that only grows in the humid tropics and is said to only grow and develop well in the Southeast Asian region, which is close to the equator.

The Kepel tree is a type of hardwood plant that can grow to a height exceeding 25 meters in height with a tree diameter of about 40–50 cm and can grow to be hundreds of years old.

Planting a Kepel tree requires a large planting area and is often used as an ornamental plant for gardens. It looks shady and beautiful, the leaves are shiny like oily and there are lots of flowers on every part of the tree trunk. This tree is unique because the flowers and the ovaries of the fruit only grow on the main stem and large branches.

Kepel fruit has the size of an adult's fist, which means it's as big as your fist. The fruit has a rough skin structure; when the fruit pistil is still green, it will turn yellow when it is large and brown when it is ripe.

You know, this rare fruit takes about 6 months, starting from the pistil until it becomes ripe, before it can be harvested. The flesh is bright yellow when fully ripe and has a creamy, smooth texture and a slightly runny consistency. The fruit seeds are large; the seeds are always an even number between 4-6 seeds, and only a little flesh covers the seeds.

photo source of ripe fruit

The Kepel fruit smells really good when it's perfectly ripe, with a fresh, fragrant, and very sweet taste. I can't really describe the taste because I've never eaten the fruit before.

My guess is that people feel lazy about cultivating this plant because the flesh of the fruit is small and it is dominated by the large seeds. Currently, there are many deodorants and perfumes that smell good enough to make you feel like a royal princess.

Have you ever seen or tasted it?

About Me