National Museum of Natural Science

The mabolo is a native tree of Taiwan, distinguished by its elegant form and ecologically valuable fruit. It has a straight, upright trunk with few branches, and its bark features a striking black background marked by light-colored stripes. The thick, leathery leaves are large and neatly arranged, giving the tree a stately and refined appearance.

The mabolo produces yellow-green, pitcher-shaped flowers that bloom around April each year. Yet, it is the fruit that truly captures people’s attention. By August and September, the large, round fruits ripen to a golden-orange color, covered with fine, velvety hairs that give them a distinctive texture. The sweet, aromatic fruits are not only enjoyed by humans but also serve as a valuable food source for wildlife. In the Botanical Garden, squirrels can often be seen climbing the branches to feast on the ripe fruits, while birds peck at them and butterflies gather on fallen fruits to sip their fermented juices-creating a lively display of ecological interaction.

The mabolo dense, hard, and jet-black wood has long been prized for its durability and beauty, making it ideal for high-quality furniture and fine woodworking. Because of its attractive shape, resilience, and ability to absorb air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, the mabolo is also widely planted as a garden or street tree, contributing to urban greening and air purification.

This species is distributed in the Philippines, the Hengchun Peninsula in southern Taiwan, and on the offshore islands of Orchid Island, Green Island, and Guishan Island, which marks the northernmost limit of its natural range. The mabolo also holds deep cultural significance among Taiwan’s Austronesian peoples. It is commonly cultivated in the courtyards of the Kavalan, Amis, Puyuma, and Paiwan peoples in eastern and southern Taiwan, while the Tao people of Orchid Island often plant it along the edges of taro fields or within private forest groves.

At the National Museum of Natural Science, mabolo trees are planted in the Coral Atoll Area of the Botanical Garden, where their broad leaves, fragrant fruits, and cultural symbolism together highlight the close connection between Taiwan’s native flora and its Indigenous heritage.