BIGNAY, botanically known as Antidesma bunius, produces berries that are purple when ripe. Birds love to eat the sweetish-sour berries. People also love to eat them fresh from the tree. The berries are also the favorite of wine makers to produce bignay wine.

In many places this indigenous tree usually produces fruits only once a year. At the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City, however, they have a few trees of the Palamuti variety that produce berries successively throughout the year. This is a cultivar that was developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding at the UP Los Baños.

According to Dr. Gliceria S. Pascua, a recent retiree from MMSU who used to take charge of the fruit crops nursery, they harvested this year’s first crop last February. When we visited the place on March 20-22, the trees were profusely blooming again. No special treatment is being given to the trees except that they are continuously watered so the soil will not get too dry.