The Tropical Fruit Forum

Looks alot like the Sala Pondoh, I don't know a lot about Salak because I don't have any mature trees.  In the original photo the fruit looked very hairy, but not so much in the last photo. 

I like that kind too, but if you eat side by side with the Red Sweet Sala, just no comparison, trust me!  Red is so juicy and is just full of flavor, I guess it could be measured by Brix as well and would likely test twice as sweet.

might want to start off with guesses why they died, were they slow or instant deaths?

my priperty is a living example of what cam grow in tropical lowlands.  Conditioms would be floodimg wvery year from 2" to 3', and several months of high water table (wet feet).  My lost:
Bananas -  survive but not thrive, must have root ball established, new plantings will rot
Mangoes - no visisble issue, seed grown root stock
Soursop - no isssues, seed grown
coconuts - occasional trunk splitting (too much water uptake)
Mulberry - Wilting, survives but basically just waiting for good conditions to grow again
Sapodilla - wet feet currently no problem, no comment on flooding yet
Jackfruit - instant death by wet feet
Durian - instant death by wet feet
Dragonfruit - wilting rotting death by wet feet
Santol - no issues seed grown
Citrus - no issues, perhaps some fruiting issues, but fruiting always picky about anything
Pineapple - no issues - 2 week underwater - no issues
Bilimbi - no issues
Roseapple - no issues
Star gooseberry - no issues
Papaya - death by wet feet
Pomegranate - once established high rate of survival
Cacao - death by flooding
Custard Apple - highly tolerant of both wet feet and flooding once established

also likely some others on my property

Any grafts will likely get diseased when flooding if underwater

Jackfruit - I think waste your time, dont like wet feet, water too close.  8 years do you want to cull because of disease?

All three of these were grown in Thailand.  I have read some threads on here about Salak Bali, but verified with grower of Sala Indo that Sala Indo is definitely not self pollinatimg, so different varitety.

What is Sagum?  Are we using Thai or  Engliah?  I know Ragum is a spcies name but in Thai sour Sallaca are called 'Lagum'.  Sour Lagum may be wild but the price of it outperforms durian sonetimes at 80 baht/kg

Like I mentioned before the sweet red Sala I ate looks exactly the same as sour 'Lagum' .. skin peeling off, slender, long, etc.  Sumalee pictures I saw showed them as a bit short and plump.  Inthink the red one is similar to Namnerng, and the seller may have been confused about what the red one was called.

The only round Sallaca I've seen are the ones I posted in the pic above as Sala Indo Black.  Very plain

Yes it is the best in my opinion, the seller just called it Sala Nampeung.  It is very strange because nobody is selling this kind now.  The market for seedlings is full of Sala Indo Nampeung.

The red one looks exactly like sour "Lagum" so buyer beware.

Very sweet, very juicy, and occasionally seedless!  However it is quick to ferment like pineapple (still edible like overripe pineapple) and the fruit sticks to the seed. It has a slight tartness that makes the juicy sweetness so much better, the juicyness and flavorfullness is what makes it better than any kind of Sala Indo in my opinion.

I need to try some more of the Red sweet ones.. I don't think I've ever tried Namnerng or Sumalee, I'm curious how much of an actual difference the sweet sala have. The Thai people have a habit of hyping up regional growing areas and renaming cultivars after the region, even though the species is the same.  Chumpon Banana is a great example of that. or Bangmot Oranges.

In my opinion the Sala Nampeung looks exactly like the Sour Lagum strain, including size, color, shape, etc... perhaps the palm trees would show some difference.

These are addictive, while reaching for these to take the pictures I finished off all the Sala Nampeung, the big black Indonesians I can wait to eat.

I have stayed away from Salacca for the most part in Thailand, because usually what you see in the markets is sour and used for cooking like limes.  So they are not bad, but just like limes you don't eat them alone.  I believe this is Salacca wallichiana variety.  And I also believe but not sure that in Thai this sour variety must be referred to as "Lagum."  Again I repeat, new knowledge I'm learning here so feel free to correct me.

And so there is another kind, "Sala".  Which I just realized is basically the same species as "Lagum" just a different variety, so they can be crossbred or used as cross pollinators... But when I want to find "Sweet" Salacca I should be looking for "Sala" and not "Lagum."

So for the last few months I have been bombarded by posts in my facebook groups of sales of "Sala Indo" which I believed was what some people have referred to on this forum as Salak Bali, which is self pollinating.  But I found out today that "Sala Indo" is not self pollinating.  Today I was in the deep south near the border of Malaysia in Trang, and found "Sala Nampeung (Honey)", "Sala Indo Black" and "Sala Indo Brown"  The brown Indonesian was smaller and more pointed then the Black.  The Sala Nampeung looks almost identical to the sour "Lagum" however the taste is excellent!

I bought 1 kg of each kind, and went through that all today.

The Sala Indo Black is very plain in my opinion, neither sour or sweet, edible though unlike Lagum.  It is very large though.  I would not plant this in my opinion, I ate quite a few at different stages, and even the sweetest of the bunches could not compare to the other two.  It is a bit dry.

Second place would be the Sala Indo Brown, which is also a bit plain but has fruity hints of like a green apple, but a green apple would be more sour tasting than this. It is also a bit dry.

First place, Sala Namepeung, or Honey Salak.  Now I must admit.. I have seen pictures of brown and black Indonesian Salak being called Sala Nampeung Indo, or similar.. so this is definitely a source of confusion.  But for reference it is skinny, the skin peels right off and does not stick at all, it is red in color, and usually contains 2 seeds, occasionally 3, and sometimes seedless.  It is very sweet, very flavorful, very juicy, and there is a hint of sourness, but it only accentuates the sweetness like a great pineapple.  The slight sour tinge is not astringent like in Lagum, and I am a good judge of that because I have sensitive teeth.  In fact I stay away from all limes, lemons, and bilimbi in my garden as these do open up the enamel on my teeth very fast.  So in summary, not astringent, but sour notes are present.

If anybody can point me to some verifiable information on Sala Nampeung, like species name and so on please help.  Also some people have said this variety is self-pollinating, so that would be great, as currently I'm interested in only planting 5-6 trees in between coconut trees.

trying to add image but having no luck

awesome, I'm interested then too!  how many years until fruiting?

ruby red found!  thanks

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I've much more accurate information on the scientific name:

https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/species/a---l/ar/asteraceae/cichorioideae/vernonieae/gymnanthemum

https://happyhomemaker88.com/2008/08/02/quest-for-a-healthier-life/

Looking to pickup Mex. Garcinia scions to trade to somebody else locally for something else..
Kratom is illegal where I'm at, but all the workers chew it and have cuttings, too bad could not send to you.  In Malaysia I believe it is not illegal, and quite common there, so that would be a good place to look.

However there is another plant locally sometimes referred to as Kratom Malay, not to be confused with Kratom 'from' Malaysia, which is very common!  The scientific name is Gynura_procumbens edit, Gymnanthemum amygdalinum
I steep 5 leaves with a handful of fresh mint, with poured over hot water, like any regular tea.  It is more bitter than Kratom, so I prefer not to chew it.  Kratom is pretty bitter to chew as well. 
If your after Kratom for any sort of perceived stimulant effect, just know that coffee is so much more powerful!

Kratom Malay is easily propagated by cutting, easier than basil, mint, or mulberry.  It can grow up to 30 feet tall, possibly taller, I trim mine back before it gets that tall.  To get that tall it will be like bamboo, it needs smaller trees around it to support it, so quite bushy if getting that tall.  Recently pulled up an entire 30 foot tree, it has a nice tubular root system, but not too deep of tap root.  Leaves are evergreen, never seen flowers.