Clausena excavata is an evergreen shrub or small tree of Southeast and South Asia, grown for its aromatic leaves and anise-flavoured berries. It is easy to grow in warm, frost-free conditions with good light and moderate water.
Family
Rutaceae (Citrus family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly during dry spells and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile loam or potting mix.
Temperature
18–32 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
Trop. & Subtrop. Asia
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Clausena excavata is a species of evergreen shrub that grows 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The plant is commonly by various names, including pink lime-berry, cama, cemama, cemamar, cerek, cerek hitam, kemantu hitam, secerek, semeru, and suntang hitam.
Uses
The leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking, emitting a curry-like smell when crushed. The plant's berries are also edible and have an anise flavour. The plant is astringent, bitter, emmenagogue and considered a tonic for digestive problems.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Clausena excavata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.