Sal Tree (Shorea robusta)

Family: Dipterocarpaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Sal Tree, Shorea robusta, is an evergreen tree growing up to 50 m in height with a cylindrical bole that can be unbranched for up to 25 m and up to 200 cm in diameter. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent and can be found in East Asia where it serves many purposes. Younger tree has an elongated crown but as the tree grows older, the crown becomes more rounded.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Seed - roasted. The seeds are boiled into a porridge with the flowers of Bassia latifolia and the fruits of Dolichos biflorus. They can be ground into a coarse flour that is used to make bread, and the plant is used as a famine food. — The seeds are boiled into a porridge with the flowers of Bassia latifolia and the fruits of Dolichos biflorus.; They can be ground into a coarse flour that is used to make bread, and the plant is used as a famine food.; A de-fatted kernel powder, popularly known as sal seed cake, contains about 50% starch, in addition to proteins, tannins and minerals.; The physico-chemical property of the starch can be exploited for preparing canned food products.

Habitat & North American Range

A rare plant in China, it is gregarious in savannah woodlands at elevations below 800 metres in south-eastern Xizang. Often the main tree in forests of Nepal at elevations up to 1,400 metres. (Zone 10)