myrobalan a name which is or was used of various astringent Asian fruits, notably emblic (Phyllanthus emblica), which are not suitable for eating raw but have some food uses in pickled form or in preserves. The name is also given to the fruits of some trees of the genus Terminalia, which have similar uses, e.g. the belleric myrobalan, T. bellirica.
The name myrobalan plum was formerly applied to the fruit of Prunus cerasifera; see cherry plum.
© the Estate of Alan Davidson 1999, 2006, 2014 © in the Editor’s contribution to the second and third editions, Oxford University Press 2006, 2014.
