May 17, 2024
The Himalayan Silverberry, also known as musleri (Nepali) or Soh-Shang (Khasi), is a rare and exotic fruit native to the hilly regions of North-east India, also found in Thailand and Vietnam.
Musleri trees are hardy, semi-evergreen, and grow up to 30 feet tall with silvery foliage, thriving in elevations of 4900-8500 feet above sea level.
The fruit starts green and silvery-scaled, turning yellow and then light pink as it ripens, finally becoming red-orange with white speckles, and is usually harvested around April-May.
Raw musleri fruits are very sour and astringent, but ripen to a less astringent, sour taste similar to sour plums; they are rich in essential fatty acids, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and have anti-carcinogenic properties.
In Sikkim and Meghalaya, the fruit is popularly eaten raw with salt, made into chutneys, or used as a souring agent in dishes; it is highly perishable with a shelf-life of 3-4 days at room temperature.