From the book
Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia F. Morton
Purple Mombin
Spondias
purpurea L.
ANACARDIACEAE
One of the most popular small fruits of the American tropics, the
purple mombin, Spondias
Purpurea
L., has acquired many other colloquial names: in English, red mombin,
Spanish plum, hog plum, scarlet plum; purple plum in the Virgin
Islands; Jamaica plum in Trinidad; Chile plum in Barbados; wild plum in
Costa Rica and Panama; red plum, as well as noba and makka pruim in the
Netherlands Antilles. Spanish names include: ajuela ciruela; chiabal;
cirguelo; ciruela; ciruela agria; ciruela calentana; ciruela
campechana; ciruela colorada; ciruela de coyote; ciruela de hueso;
ciruela del país; ciruela de Mexico; ciruela morada; ciruela
roja; ciruela sanjuanera; hobo; hobo colorado; ismoyo; jobillo; jobito;
jobo; jobo colorado; jobo francés; jocote; jocote agrio; jocote
amarillo (yellow form); jocote común; jocote de corona; jocote
de iguana; jocote iguanero; jocote tronador; jocotillo; pitarillo;
sineguelas (Philippines); sismoyo. In Portuguese, it is called ambu;
ambuzeiro; ameixa da Espanha; cajá vermelha (yellow form);
ciriguela; ciroela; imbu; imbuzeiro; umbu, or umbuzeiro. In French, it
is cirouelle, mombin rouge, prune du Chili, prune d'Espagne, prune
jaune (yellow form) or prune rouge.
Fig. 68: The purple, or red, mombin (Spondias Purpurea),
despite its large seed, is popular for casual nibbling. In: K.
& J. Morton, Fifty Tropical Fruits of Nassau, 1946.
Description
The
purple mombin may be a shrub or low-branched small tree in lowlands, or
a spreading, thick-trunked tree reaching 25 or even 50 ft (7.5-15 m) in
highlands. The branches are thickish and brittle. The deciduous,
alternate, compound leaves bright-red or purple when young; 4 3/4 to 10
in (12-25 cm) long when mature; have 5 to 19 nearly sessile, obovate to
lanceolate or oblong-elliptic leaflets 3/4 to 1 1/2 in (2-4 cm) long;
oblique toward the base and faintly toothed toward the apex. The tiny,
4- to 5-petalled flowers, male, female and bisexual, are red or purple
and borne in short, hairy panicles along the branches before the leaves
appear. Somewhat plumlike, the fruits, borne singly or in groups of 2
or 3, may be purple, dark- or bright-red, orange, yellow, or
red-and-yellow. They vary from 1 to 2 in (2.5-5 cm) in length and may
be oblong, oval, obovoid or pear-shaped, with small indentations and
often a knob at the apex. The skin is glossy and firm; the flesh
aromatic, yellow, fibrous, very juicy, with a rich, plum-like, subacid
to acid flavor, sometimes a trifle turpentiney; and it adheres to the
rough, fibrous, hard, oblong, knobby, thick, pale stone, which is 1/2
to 3/4 in (1.25-2 cm) long and contains up to 5 small seeds.
Origin and
Distribution
The
purple mombin is native and common both wild and cultivated from
southern Mexico through northern Peru and Brazil, particularly in and
zones. There are some recent commercial plantings in Mexico and
Venezuela. It is commonly planted in most of the islands of the West
Indies and the Bahamas. Everywhere the fruits are sold along the roads
and streets as well as in the native markets. Spanish explorers carried
this species to the Philippines, where it has been widely adopted. The
tree is naturalized throughout much of Nigeria and occasionally
cultivated for its fruit. It has been infrequently planted in southern
Florida, mainly as a curiosity.
Varieties
The fruit is highly variable. The yellow form (uncommon) has been
identified by some botanists as S.
purpurea forma lutea F. & R., or even as a
separate species, S.
cirouella Tassac. It has been confused with the true
yellow mombin, S. mombin
L. (syn. S. lutea
L.), q.v.
In
Guatemala, the variety called jocote de corona, which is flattened and
somewhat shouldered at the apex, is said to be of superior quality, and
jocote tronador is nearly its equal.
Climate
The
tree is tropical, ranging from sea-level to 5,500 or 6,000 ft
(1,700-1,800 m) in Mexico and Central America; to 2,500 ft (760 m) in
Jamaica, in either dry or humid regions. It flowers but does not fruit
in Israel; is cold-sensitive in Florida.
Soil
The
tree is found growing naturally on a great diversity of soils
throughout Latin America-sand, gravel, heavy clay loam, or limestone.
Propagation
and Culture
The
purple mombin, including its yellow form, is grown very easily and
quickly by setting large cuttings upright in the ground. It is one of
the trees most used to create "living fences". It grows very slowly
from seed.
Season
There
are flowers and fruits of the red form nearly all year in Jamaica, but
mainly in July and August, while the yellow variant fruits only from
September to November. In the Bahamas, the fruiting season of the red
type is brief, just May and June; the yellow ripens from August to
early October.
Pests and
Diseases
Fruit flies commonly infest the ripe fruits. In Florida, the foliage is
subject to spot anthracnose caused by Sphaceloma spondiadis.
Food Uses
The
ripe fruits are commonly eaten out-of-hand. While not of high quality,
they are popular with people who have enjoyed them from childhood, and
they serve a useful purpose in the absence of "snackbars". In the home,
they are stewed whole, with sugar, and consumed as dessert. They can be
preserved for future use merely by boiling and drying, which keeps them
in good condition for several months. The strained juice of cooked
fruits yields an excellent jelly and is also used for making wine and
vinegar. It is a pleasant addition to other fruit beverages.
In Mexico, unripe fruits are made into a tart, green sauce, or are
pickled in vinegar and eaten with salt and chili peppers.
The new shoots and leaves are acid and eaten raw or cooked as greens in
northern Central America.
| Food
Value Per
100 g of Edible Portion* |
| Moisture |
65.9-86.6
g |
| Protein |
0.096-0.261 g |
| Fat |
0.03-0.17 g |
| Fiber |
0.2-0.6 g |
| Ash |
0.47-1.13 g |
| Calcium |
6.1-23.9 mg |
| Phosphorus |
31.5-55.7 mg |
| Iron |
0.09-1.22 mg |
| Carotene |
0.004-0.089 mg |
| Thiamine |
0.033-0.103 mg |
| Riboflavin |
0.014-0.049 mg |
| Niacin |
0.540-1.770 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid |
26.4-73.0 mg |
Amino Acids** (mg per g nitrogen [N = 6.25]) |
| Lysine |
316 mg |
| Methionine |
178 mg |
| Threonine |
219 mg |
| Tryptophan |
57 mg |
*Analyses made in Central America and Ecuador.
**Brazilian analyses.
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Toxicity
In the Philippines, it is said that eating a large quantity of the
fruits on an empty stomach may cause stomachache.
Other Uses
Gum:
The tree exudes a gum that has served in Central America as a glue.
Wood:
The wood is light and soft; has been found to be suitable for paper
pulp in Brazil. It is sometimes burned to ashes which are employed in
making soap.
Leaves and
fruits: The leaves are readily grazed by cattle and the
fruits are fed to hogs.
Lac:
Lac insects have been raised on the red mombin in Mexico.
Fig. 69: The yellow form of the purple mombin, which has been called S.
purpurea var. lutea, is smaller, less irregular in form.
Medicinal
Uses: in Mexico, the fruits are regarded as diuretic and
antispasmodic.
The fruit decoction is used to bathe wounds and heal sores in the
mouth. A sirup prepared from the fruit is taken to overcome chronic
diarrhea. The astringent bark decoction is a remedy for mange, ulcers,
dysentery and for bloating caused by intestinal gas in infants. In the
Philippines, the sap of the bark is used to treat stomatitis in infants.
The
juice of the fresh leaves is a remedy for thrush. A decoction of the
leaves and bark is employed as a febrifuge. In southwestern Nigeria, an
infusion of shredded leaves is valued for washing cuts, sores and
burns. Researchers at the University of Ife have found that an aqueous
extract of the leaves has antibacterial action, and an alcoholic
extract is even more effective. The gum-resin of the tree is blended
with pineapple or soursop juice for treating jaundice. Most of the
other uses indicate that the fruits, leaves and bark are fairly rich in
tannin.
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