Spondias purpurea

Spondias purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico to northern Colombia and the southwest Caribbean Islands. It has also been introduced to and naturalized to other parts of the American tropics, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. It is commonly known as jocote, which derives from the Nahuatl word xocotl, meaning any kind of sour or acidic fruit. Other common names include red mombin, Spanish plum, purple mombin, Jamaica plum, and hog plum.

Description

A medium sized tree. It grows 4-10 m high. It has an irregular trunk and broad crown. Often it is low and sprawling. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are made up of 5-12 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets are 2-4 cm long and they fall before flowering. The flowers are red and in groups 3-5 cm long. They are on the small branches. The fruit are small and red and sub-acid. They are round or oval and 2.5-5 cm long. They often grow in clusters of three. The fruit is edible. The fruit has a woody kernel which contains the seed. The flesh is creamy-yellow.

Edible Uses

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked with sugar. The juicy yellow pulp is spicy and subacid, said to resemble a plum in flavour. Usually eaten ripe and raw, though the sour green fruits are also eaten by children and adults. It is used for jams and ice cream, and unripe fruits are pickled or made into a tart green sauce. The yellow or purplish-red cylindrical fruits are 25–30mm long. Young shoots and leaves, which are often conspicuously red and purple, have an agreeable acid flavour and are eaten raw or cooked. The leaves contain 5.5% protein. The seeds are also edible.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten fresh or cooked or for jelly. It is used for drinks. The stone or kernel can be roasted and eaten. The leaves are cooked and eaten.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves exhibit antibacterial properties. Leaf juice is taken orally to treat swollen glands and trauma. Crushed leaves are applied as a poultice for headaches. In large amounts the fruit is laxative and is used to treat constipation. The plant is also used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea, and parts of the plant are used in a herbal remedy for sore throat.

Known Hazards

The seed is toxic.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It suits the hot tropical lowlands. It grows naturally in tropical America. It is resistant to drought. It will produce on poor soils. They grow from sea level to 1,200 m altitude in Mexico.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia*, Brazil, Central America*, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guiana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesser Antilles, Martinique, Mexico*, Nicaragua, North America, Pacific, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South America, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies,

Cultivation

Seeds do not normally grow. Plants are grown by cuttings and stem sprouts. Straight cuttings 6 cm thick and 1.5 m long are used. The cuttings are made at the start of leaf production. The cuttings are kept in the shade for a couple of weeks. They are then planted 8 m apart and at a depth of 30 cm. Flowers bud on the current year's growth so pruning can be done yearly. Pruning increases the size and weight of fruit.

Propagation

Fairly easy to grow from quite large cuttings.

Other Uses

Trees are frequently planted as living fence posts and are considered among the best for this purpose in tierra caliente regions. Even large limbs cut and set in the ground root quickly, and they are often planted thickly to form immediate barriers. Wood ashes are used in soap-making in some regions, and parts of the tree are used in cosmetic and hygienic products such as soap. The seeds have a thick gum coating used in chilli stews; this gum is highly water-soluble and on hydrolysis yields polysaccharides, with aspartic acid and valine as its major amino acid constituents. The whitish wood is soft, light, and brittle, and has been used for paper pulp in Brazil. The easily cut branches serve as firewood.

Production

The fruit matures in about 120 days.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. Fruit are sold in markets.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Abal-ac, Ateyaxocotl, Beelati amra, Caja, Ciriguela, Ciruela, Ciruela colorado, Ciruelo, Hog-plum, Jamaican plum, Jocote, Jogo tain, Obito, Ovo, Pahara, Red mombin, Rum, Seriguela, Siniguelas, Spanish-plum, Walak

References (69)

• Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 2493
• Arellanes, Y., et al, 2013, Influence of traditional markets on plant management in the Tehuacan Valley. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 9:38
• Barfod, A. S. & Kvist, L. P., 1996, Comparative Ethnobotanical Studies of the Amerindian Groups in Coastal Ecuador. The Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. p 76
• Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 380
• Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.

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