Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Inga vera Wild.
Local Names: Creole (sikren, pwa
dou), English (river-koko, pan chock), French (sucrin, sucrier, pois
sucrin, pois doux à paille, pois doux), Spanish (inga, guavo, guamá
jina, guamà, guaba nativa, guaba)
Family: Fabaceae - Mimosoideae
Botanic
Description
Inga vera is a
medium-sized evergreen tree 12-18 m tall, with trunk 30-60 cm in
diameter (sometimes to 20 m tall and 1 m in diameter) with a widely
spreading crown of long branches and thin foliage. Bark grey-brown,
fairly smooth but becoming finely fissured; inner bark pinkish to
brown. Twigs brown, often zigzag, with dense brown hairs when young.
Leaves
alternate in 2 rows, pinnately compound, 18-30 cm long; axis 6-18 cm
long, brown, hairy, with a green wing 6-10 mm broad. Leaflets 3-7
pairs, slightly drooping, stalkless, with a tiny round gland between
each pair, elliptical to oblong, 5-15 x 2.5-7 cm, larger from base
towards the end, long pointed at tip and short pointed at base, not
toothed on edges, thin and slightly convex, slightly hairy, especially
on veins, upper surface green, underneath pale green.
Flower
clusters 1-4 on base of leaf or at end of twig, consisting of several
stalkless flowers crowded near end of hairy stalk, only 1 or 2 open
daily. Each flower 6-7.5 x 7.5-9 cm, with many threadlike white
stamens. Flower fully expanded at dawn but soon wilts in daylight.
Calyx tubular, cylindrical, 5-toothed, corolla a narrow cylindrical
tube about 15 mm long with 5 short spreading lobes, greenish-yellow
with dense brown hairs; numerous stamens united into a tube inside the
corolla; pistil with long narrow ovary and very slender style.
Pods
nearly cylindrical, narrow, 10-20 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, 4-ribbed, with
2 long grooves, slightly curved, densely hairy, brown, with calyx at
base, not splitting open. Seeds few, beanlike, black, in white,
sweetish, edible pulp.The name ‘inga’ is derived from its name with the
Tupi Indians of South America. The specific Latin name, ‘vera’, means
‘true’ or ‘genuine’. Based on material collected in Jamaica, this
species was the first to be named and the one upon which the
classification of the rest of this large genus was based.
Biology
I. vera flowers and fruits throughout the year.
Ecology
I. vera is suitable to the climate of the humid tropics with a high rainfall.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 0-1 000 m, Mean annual temperature: 18-28 deg. C
Mean annual rainfall: 980-4 000 mm
Soil type: A wide variety of soils including limestone
Documented
Species Distribution
Native: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
Exotic: Argentina,
Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica,
Ecuador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana,
Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St
Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay,
Venezuela, Virgin Islands (US)
The
map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does
neither suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological
zone within that country, nor that the species can not be planted in
other countries than those depicted. Since some tree species are
invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to your
planting site.
Products
Food: Seeds of this and many other species of Inga are enclosed in sugary edible pulp.
Apiculture: With flowers rich in nectar and attractive to bees, the tree is a good honey source.
Fuel: The moderately heavy wood makes excellent fuel and is used for charcoal throughout the West Indies.
Timber: Sapwood whitish and
heartwood pale brown to golden brown with longitudinal streaks or
patches of darker brown, often shaded with green or yellow. Wood
moderately hard, slightly heavy (specific gravity 0.57-0.59), strong
and tough. The timber is suitable for utility furniture, boxes, crates,
light construction, posts and general carpentry.
Medicine: Macerated bark is
taken orally for anaemia, a root decoction for gallstones, and fruit
pulp for constipation. Reported to be astringent and diuretic.
Services
Shade or shelter: Frequently used as a shade tree for coffee and cacao and as an avenue shade tree.
Nitrogen fixing: Widely grown with other species for its good nitrogen-fixing ability.
Intercropping: This leguminous shade tree is often planted with coffee
Tree
Management
A
fast-growing species, the trunk often grows more than 2.5 cm in
diameter in a year. Trees coppice well. On lower slopes and along
streams, this tree grows very rapidly, producing sufficient shade for
coffee within 3 years.
Germplasm
Management
Seed
storage behaviour is recalcitrant. Lowest safe mc of cotyledons is 40%;
lowest safe embryo mc is 52%; seeds cannot survive desiccation below
25% mc and embryos below 40% mc
Pests and
Diseases
An ant (Myrmelachista ramulorun) attacks older trees and tunnels through trunks and branches in Puerto Rico. A leaf webber (Tetralopha scabridella) causes severe defoliation, and a beetle (Xyleborus affinis) attacks both healthy and stressed trees in Puerto Rico. A wood borer (Platypus ratzenburgi)
causes severe damage to live trees in Puerto Rico. Timber is
susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites and to decay when in contact
with the ground.
The following diseases have been listed for I. vera: Bitzea ingae (rust), Catacauma ingae (black mildew), Cephaleuros virescens (green scruf), Diatractium ingae, Irenopsis toruloidea (black mildew), Melasmia ingae (on leaves), Meliola chagres (black mildew), Microstroma ingaicola (witches’ broom), Microthyrium ingae (on leaves), Mycosphaerella maculiformis (on fallen leaves), Omphalia flavida (leaf spot), Paradiopsis ingarum (black mildew), Paradiopsis stevensii, Perisporina truncatum (black mildew), Phyllachora amphibola (on leaves), Ravenelia ingae (rust), Rosellinia bunodes (root rot), Scolecopeltis ingae (black spot), and Septoideum stevensii (on leaves).
An
unidentified root fungus or bacterium causes loss of sap from trees,
necrosis, and eventual death in Puerto Rico. The wood is very
susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites and other insects and to
decay on contact with the ground.
Further
Reading
Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4. IPGRI.
Little
EL, Wadsworth FH. 1964. Common trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands. Agricultural Handbook. No. 249. US Department of Agriculture.
Washington DC.
Little EL. 1983. Common fuelwood crops. Communi-Tech Association, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Timyan J. 1996. Bwa Yo: important trees of Haiti. South-East Consortium for International Development. Washington D.C.
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