Exotic Fruit: Tabo from the Virgin Forests of Palawan, Philippines

Posted On July 23, 2010

My wife just came home from Palawan and she brought home some fruits we had never seen before.  She says these fruits are called TABO.  An exotic fruit found in the virgin forests of Palawan, Philippines.  First thing I asked was, is it safe to eat?

My wife says the natives in the forest get this TABO fruit from a vine, a big vine that creeps on the tall trees.  Rumor has it that the natives cut the vine enough so it creeps low enough so they can gather fruit.  Rumor says these vines only bear fruit every 15 years!  Sounds like a tall story that needs to be verified.

Here are pictures of the fruit, and what the seeds look like.  The meat tastes pretty good.  Something unique, tender, the seeds are big.  It’s like no other fruit I had ever seen.  I wonder what it’s nutrition profile is, what it is good for.  Must ask the natives.

It’s a big world and maybe one of you will be able to identify this fruit better and give more factual information.