From Plant
Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA)
by R. E. Coronel
Taxon
Spondias purpurea L.
Protologue
Sp. Pl. ed.2: 613 (1762).
Family
Anacardiaceae
Chromosome
Numbers
2n= unknown
Synonyms
Spondias dulcis Blanco (1837), non Soland. ex Forst.f. (1786).
Vernacular
Names
Red mombin, Spanish plum (En)
Mombin rouge, prunier d'Espagne (Fr)
Indonesia: kedondong seberang, kedongdong sabrang (Sundanese),
kedondong cocok, kedongdong cucuk, kedongdong cina
Philippines: siniguelas, sineguelas (Filipino), saguelas (Iloko),
siriguelas (Bikol)
Origin and
Geographic Distribution
S. purpurea
is a native of tropical America. It has been introduced to other
tropical and warm subtropical countries. In the 16th Century it was
introduced by the Spaniards in the Philippines where it is now of some
economic importance as a fruit crop. Elsewhere in South-East Asia S. purpurea is
hardly cultivated, Spondias
cytherea Sonnerat being grown instead.
Uses
The
ripe fruit is usually eaten fresh but it may also be preserved in syrup
or made into jelly. The green mature fruit can be made into pickles.
Cattle eat the leaves. Large stumps are planted as live fence posts.
The wood is light and soft and suitable for paper pulp. A decoction of
the bark is effective against dysentery and is very useful in treating
infantile tympanitis.
Production
and international trade
S. purpurea
is quite extensively grown in many parts of the Philippines as a
backyard tree, and the fruit is common in local markets.
Properties
The fruit has 64% edible portion and 36% seed. The thin skin is also
edible. Per 100 g the edible portion contains: water 77.9 g, protein
0.9 g, fat 0.2 g, carbohydrates 20.5 g, fibre 0.5 g, ash 0.5 g, calcium
15 mg, phosphorus 35 mg, iron 0.9 mg, sodium 2 mg, potassium 270 mg,
vitamin A 370 IU, niacin 0.4 mg, traces of thiamine and riboflavin and
vitamin C 51 mg. The energy value amounts to 330 kJ/100 g. Citric acid
is the predominant organic acid in the fruit.
Description
Deciduous tree, up to 10(-25) m tall, trunk 30(-80) cm in diameter,
spreading; bark grey to brown, branches thickish and brittle.
Leaves alternate, pinnately compound with 4-12 pairs of leaflets;
rachis 6-12 cm long, petiole 2.5-4 cm; leaflets obliquely elliptic to
elliptic-oblong, 2-5.5 cm × 1-2.5 cm, chartaceous, margin
entire or obscurely crenulate, petiolules short.
Inflorescences appearing before the leaves, paniculate or racemiform,
axillary, up to 4 cm long, few flowered; pedicels 2-4 mm long; flowers
reddish or purplish; calyx lobes triangular; petals 4-5, ovate-oblong,
3-4 mm × 1.5-2 mm; stamens 8 or 10, styles 4 or 5.
Fruit a drupe, oblongoid to ovoid, 2.5-4 cm × 2 cm,
purple-red, dark-purple or yellow; flesh yellow, aromatic, juicy; stone
oblongoid, up to 2 cm long, rough, fibrous, hard, containing up to 5,
usually abortive seeds; fruit weighs 20-30 g.
Growth and
development
Stem cuttings grow rather fast, producing terminal and lateral shoots.
In the Philippines the tree becomes dormant at the start of the dry
season in November and loses all its leaves in December and January. In
the 3rd or 4th year, flower buds emerge from leaf axils soon after leaf
fall. Flowers in Spondias are bisexual, but red mombin trees in the
Philippines bear flowers with small stamens which produce no pollen. As
parthenocarpy ensures good fruit set, there is no need for pollination
in the cultivated crop. Apparently S.
purpurea produces viable seeds in its area of origin.
Possibly the species is more or less dioecious; in that case,
functionally male trees introduced in Asia would have become extinct
through selective vegetative propagation of male-sterile trees. As the
fruits start to develop, new shoots are formed. The fruits ripen
usually in May or June, sometimes in April or July, during which time
the new growth is about to mature.
Other
botanical information
The Philippine common name siniguelas is a corruption of the Spanish
name ciruela, meaning plum. Some authors consider the purple-fruited
and yellow-fruited S.
purpurea to belong to two different subspecies or
botanical varieties. The rather uncommon yellow form is sometimes
confused with the true yellow mombin, Spondias mombin L.,
which has long (50 cm), many-flowered inflorescences, appearing
together with the leaves, and white flowers.
Ecology
S. purpurea
thrives at elevations up to about 600 m; in tropical America it is
found up to 2000 m. It succeeds equally well in both dry and wet sites,
but better quality fruit is apparently produced in places with a long
dry season. The tree is equally adaptable to different soil types. In
the Philippines many trees are found in places ill-suited to other
fruit trees.
Agronomy
Since the seeds inside the stone are not viable, the tree in the
Philippines is always propagated by stem cuttings. Sections of mature
stems about 50 cm long are planted in individual containers in the
nursery or directly in the field. Propagation under mist using softwood
cuttings treated with a root-promoting substance may prove to be more
economical and efficient. Marcotting is successful but takes 8-9
months. Grafting onto Spondias
pinnata (L.f.) Kurz seedlings is also possible. Rooted
stem cuttings are set in the field at the onset of the rains. The
suggested planting distance is 7-9 m. Once established in the field the
trees receive little care. They would probably benefit greatly from
adequate fertilization and irrigation, particularly during flowering
and fruit development. Training and formative pruning to reduce the
size of the mature tree has to be studied.
No important diseases and pests have been reported. Minor pests
observed in the Philippines include: twig borers, toy beetles, slug and
tussock caterpillars, grey and cottony cushion mealy bugs and scales.
Fruit flies may become serious if ripe fruits are allowed to remain on
the tree. Fruits are considered ripe when they change colour from green
to greenish-yellow or reddish-purple. Fruits on a tree do not ripen at
the same time. Ripe fruits are harvested by hand and with the help of a
pole with a wire hoop fixed in the opening of a net bag that catches
the fruits.
Genetic
resources and breeding
In the Philippines all the existing trees have been propagated by stem
cutting because of the inability of the seeds to germinate.
Consequently, they all belong to only two clones; the yellow and the
purple. It is, however, possible that bud mutations occur. For example,
a tree with exceptionally large fruits and small seeds has been
reported. Among introductions in Florida, at least 6 cultivars can be
distinguished, varying greatly in fruit characteristics and harvest
season. Some of these cultivars bear names of the area of origin (e.g.
"Campechana" in Cuba).
Prospects
S. purpurea
is a very hardy tree and can grow successfully in dry areas not suited
to many fruit trees. The ripe fruits are attractively coloured and have
ready markets. The green fruits can be processed commercially into
pickles. With proper selection, the prospects of this fruit tree appear
bright, but they should be weighed against those of S. cytherea which
dominates elsewhere in South-East Asia.
Literature
De Leon, J.G., 1917. Forms of some Philippine fruits. Philippine
Agriculturist & Forester 5(8): 251-283
Ding Hou, 1978. Anacardiaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (Editor):
Flora Malesiana, Series 1. Vol. 8. p. 485.
Juliano, J.B., 1932. The cause of sterility in Spondias purpurea
Linn. The Philippine Agriculturists 2(1): 15-24.
Galang, F.G., 1955. Fruit and nut growing in the Philippines. AIA
Printing Press, Rizal, the Philippines.
Gabriel, B.P., 1975. Insects and mites injurious to Philippine crop
plants. Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture U.P. Los
Baños, Laguna.
Popenoe, J., 1979. The genus Spondias
in Florida. Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society 92:
277-279.
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