From the book
Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia F. Morton
Yellow Mombin
Spondias mombin L.
Spondias lutea L.
ANACARDIACEAE
The true yellow mombin, S. mombin L. (syn. S. lutea
L.) is most often called hog plum in the Caribbean Islands. In Jamaica,
it is also known as Spanish plum, or gully plum. In Malaya, it is
distinguished as thorny hog plum; in Ghana, it is hog plum or Ashanti
plum. Among its Spanish names are caimito, chupandilla, ciruela agria,
ciruela amarilla, ciruela de jobo, ciruela del pais, ciruela de monte,
ciruela loca, cirueld mango, ciruela obo, cuajo, guama zapotero, hobo
de monte, hubu, jobillo, jobito, jobo, jobo arisco, joboban, jobo
blanco, jobo de Castilla, Jobo de perro, jobo de puerco, jobo espino,
jobo espinoso, jobo gusanero, jobo hembra, jobo jocote, jobo negro,
jobo roñoso, jobo vano, jocote, jocote amarillo, jocote de
chanche, jocote dejobo, jocote jobo, jocote montanero, jocote montero,
jovo, marapa, obo de zopilote, palo de mulato, noma, tobo de montana,
obo and uvo. In Portuguese, it is called acaiba, acaimiri, acaja,
acajaiba, caja, caja mirim, caja pequeno, cajazeiro, and caja miudo. In
French, it is mombin franc, mombin fruits jaunes, mombinier,
myrobalane, prune mombin, prune myrobalan, or prunier mombin. Local
names in Surinam are hoeboe, mompe, monbe, mopé and
moppé. Amazonian Indians call it taperiba or tapiriba (fruit of
the tapir).
Fig. 70: The true yellow mombin (Spondias mombin) is borne in dangling clusters. It is eaten mostly by children and livestock.
Description
The yellow
mombin tree, unlike that of the purple mombin, is erect, stately, to 65
ft (20 m) tall, with trunk to 2 or 2 1/2 ft (60-75 cm) in diameter,
somewhat buttressed, and thick, fissured bark, often, in young trees,
bearing many blunt-pointed spines or knobs up to 3/4 in (2 cm) long.
Generally, its lower branches are whorled. Its deciduous, alternate,
pinnate leaves, 8 to 18 in (20-45 cm) long, have hairy, often pinkish,
petioles and 9 to 19 sub-opposite, ovate or lanceolate, pointed
leaflets, 2 to 6 in (5-15 cm) long, inequilateral and oblique at the
base. Small, fragrant, whitish, male, female and bisexual flowers are
borne, after the new leaves, in panicles 6 to 12 in (15-30 cm) long.
The fruit, hanging in numerous, branched, terminal clusters of a dozen
or more, is aromatic, ovoid or oblong, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in (3.2-4 cm)
long and up to 1 in (2.5 cm) wide; golden-yellow; with thin, tough
skin, and scant, medium-yellow, translucent, fibrous, very juicy pulp,
somewhat musky, very acid, often with a hint of turpentine, clinging to
the white, fibrous or "corky" stone.
Origin and
Distribution
The
tree is native and common in moist lowland forests from southern Mexico
to Peru and Brazil, and in many of the West Indies. It has been planted
in Bermuda; is grown to a limited extent in India and Indonesia; is
rare in Malaya, but widely cultivated and naturalized in tropical
Africa.
The United States Department of Agriculture received
seeds from Colombia in 1914 (S.P.I. #39563); more seeds arrived in 1917
(S.P.I. #45086); and Dr. David Fairchild collected seeds in Panama in
1921 (S.P.I. #54632). Still, only a few specimens exist in special
collections in southern Florida.
Climate
This is a strictly
tropical tree, not growing above an elevation of 3,200 ft (1,000 m) in
South America. It is well-adapted to arid as well as humid zones.
Propagation
The tree may be propagated by seeds but it is usually grown from large cuttings which root quickly.
Culture
The
tree is fast-growing in full sun and in the American tropics and Africa
is extensively planted as a living fence-post, as well as for shade and
for its fruits.
Season
In
Costa Rica, the tree blooms in November and December and again in
March, and the fruits ripen in August, and in December/January.
Blooming occurs in Jamaica in April, May and June and the crop matures
in July and August. The fruits are in season in Mexico from July to
October; in Florida from August to November, They fall to the ground
when fully ripe, but children throw sticks up into the trees to bring
them down sooner.
Pests
The fruits are commonly infested with fruit-fly larvae.
Food Uses
The
yellow mombin is less desirable than the purple mombin and is
appreciated mostly by children and way-farers as a means of alleviating
thirst. Ripe fruits are eaten out-of-hand, or stewed with sugar. The
extracted juice is used to prepare ice cream, cool beverages and jelly.
Some people make those of fair quality into jam and various other
preserves.
In Amazonas, the fruit is used mainly to produce wine
sold as " Vinho de Taperiba". In Guatemala, the fruit is made into a
cider-like drink.
Mexicans pickle the green fruits in vinegar
and eat them like olives with salt and chili, as they do with the
unripe purple mombin.
Young leaves are cooked as greens.
| Food
Value Per
100 g of Edible Portion* |
| Calories
|
21.8-48.1 |
| Moisture
|
72.8-88.53 g |
| Protein |
1.28-1.38 g |
| Fat |
0.1-0.56 g |
| Fiber |
1.16-1.18 g |
| Carbohydrates |
8.70-10.0 g |
| Ash |
0.65-0.66 g |
| Calcium |
31.4 mg |
| Iron |
2.8 mg |
| Carotene (Vitamin A) |
71 I.U. |
| Thiamine | 95 mcg | | Riboflavin | 50 mcg | | Ascorbic Acid | 46.4 mg |
| *Analyses made in Guatemala, Africa and the Philippines. |
|
Toxicity
According
to Altschul, E.L. Little recorded on an herbarium specimen collected in
Colombia: ". . . fruit edible, but said to be bad for the throat." In
tropical Africa, excessive indulgence in the fruits is said to cause
dysentery.
Other Uses
Fruits: The fruits are widely valued as feed for cattle and pigs.
Gum: The tree exudes a gum that is used as a glue.
Wood:
The wood is yellow or yellowish-brown with darker markings; light in
weight, buoyant, flexible, strong; prone to attack by termites and
other pests. It is much used in carpentry, also for matchsticks,
match-boxes, physician's spatulas, sticks for sweetmeats, pencils,
pen-holders, packing cases, interior sheathing of houses and boats and
as a substitute for cork. It is not suited for turnery and does not
polish well. In Brazil, the woody tubercles on the trunk are cut off
and used for bottle stoppers and to make seals for stamping sealing
wax. In tropical Africa, saplings serve as poles for huts; branches for
garden poles and for axe and hoe handles. In Costa Rica and Puerto Rico
the wood is employed only as fuel. Ashes from the burned wood are
utilized in indigo-dyeing in Africa.
Bark:
The bark, because of its tannin content, is used in tanning and dyeing.
It is so thick that it is popular for carving amulets, statuettes,
cigarette holders, and various ornamental objects.
Roots: Potable water can be derived from the roots in emergency.
Nectar: The flowers are worked intensively by honeybees early in the morning.
Medicinal Uses:
The fruit juice is drunk as a diuretic and febrifuge. The decoction of
the astringent bark serves as an emetic, a remedy for diarrhea,
dysentery, hemorrhoids and a treatment for gonorrhea and leucorrhea;
and, in Mexico, it is believed to expel calcifications from the
bladder. The powdered bark is applied on wounds. A tea of the flowers
and leaves is taken to relieve stomachache,
biliousness, urethritis, cystitis and eye and throat inflammation. In
Belize, a decoction of the young leaves is a remedy for diarrhea and
dysentery. The juice of crushed leaves and the powder of dried leaves
are used as poultices on wounds and inflammations. The gum is employed
as an expectorant and to expel tapeworms.
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