A Note on Baccaurea courtallensis (Muell.) Arg., (Moottipotti) A Wild Edible Fruit of Western Ghats

Baccaurea courtallensis (Muell.) Arg. known as Moottippotti in Kerala occurs in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests at lower elevations in Western Ghats and bears edible fruits. Exploration and collection of the same in few pockets of Western Ghats and preliminary observation on populations and their fruit characters in situ indicated existence of good amount of genetic heterogeneity within the population. A preliminary attempt to establish the species outside its niche was partially successful but indicated that it may be amenable to conservation, domestication and development as a multi-purpose tree in tropics.