Spondias purpurea (red mombin)
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Top of pagePreferred Scientific Name
- Spondias purpurea L.
Preferred Common Name
- red mombin
Other Scientific Names
- Spondias dulcis Blanco
International Common Names
- English: purple mombin; spanish plum tree
- Spanish: ciruelo del fraile (Bolivia); ciruelo mexicano (Chile); jocote colorado
- French: mombin rouge
Local Common Names
- Germany: Mombin-Pflaumenbaum, Roter
EPPO code
- SPXPU (Spondias purpurea)
Taxonomic Tree
Top of page- Domain: Eukaryota
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Spermatophyta
- Subphylum: Angiospermae
- Class: Dicotyledonae
- Order: Sapindales
- Family: Anacardiaceae
- Genus: Spondias
- Species: Spondias purpurea
Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Top of pageSpondias purpurea is a well-defined and taxonomically separate species from other Spondias spp. (Barfod, 1987). No taxonomic treatment is available of the varieties or of the species’ genetic diversity (Duarte and Paull, 2015).
Description
Top of pageGeneral description
In the lowland tropics, the species is a small, low-branched deciduous tree or shrub (3-6 m) and in the highlands a spreading, thick-trunked tree that can reach 7-15 m. The open canopy can spread up to 15 m (Leon, 1983), with a trunk that can reach a diameter of 50 cm. The bark is grey and usually smooth. The main branches tend to grow horizontally and all branches are fairly brittle. Cuts and bruises in the bark produce a thick and transparent exudate.
Leaves
The compound leaves have 9-19 nearly sessile obovate to lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, alternate, 2-6 cm long by 1.25 cm wide leaflets that are bright red or purple, becoming green when mature.
Flowers
The axillary inflorescences come in 1-10 cm long panicles with a few flowers that usually appear at the older and defoliated nodes. Each panicle has male, female and bisexual flowers. The flowers have 4-5 sepals and 4-5 tiny red to purple petals that are usually 2.5-3.5 mm long at anthesis. Pollen is normally not formed because the mother cells of the micro-sporangia do not develop (Juliano, 1932).
Fruit
Fruit are parthenocarpic. An oblong to obovoid, sub-globose or even pear-shaped drupe, measuring 2.5-5.0 by 1.0-3.5 cm, with a smooth and glossy peel. The fruit appear solitary or in groups of two or three. The ripe fruit is normally dark or bright red but can be purple, orange, red-and-yellow, and sometimes even yellow, and can be confused with the yellow mombin. The mesocarp is fleshy and juicy, 5-7 mm thick, acid in flavour, very aromatic, yellow, and fibrous, and is attached to a fibrous and hard endocarp that can be 1.25-2.5 cm long and normally has no seeds but the vestiges of unfertilized ovules (Avilan et al., 1989, Duarte and Paull, 2015).
Distribution
Top of pageThe red mombin is native to Central America and Southern Mexico, and natural populations are found in both dry and wet areas, including a wide range of semi-deciduous forests (Duarte and Paull, 2015).
Distribution Table
Top of pageThe distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.
Last updated: 25 Feb 2021Continent/Country/Region | Distribution | Last Reported | Origin | First Reported | Invasive | Reference | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asia |
|||||||
India | Present | ||||||
North America |
|||||||
Anguilla | Present | ||||||
Antigua and Barbuda | Present | ||||||
Barbados | Present | ||||||
Belize | Present | ||||||
Costa Rica | Present | ||||||
El Salvador | Present | ||||||
Grenada | Present | ||||||
Guadeloupe | Present | ||||||
Guatemala | Present | ||||||
Honduras | Present | ||||||
Martinique | Present | ||||||
Mexico | Present | ||||||
Nicaragua | Present | ||||||
Panama | Present | ||||||
Saint Lucia | Present | ||||||
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Present | ||||||
South America |
|||||||
Brazil | Present | ||||||
-Amapa | Present | ||||||
-Bahia | Present | ||||||
-Goias | Present | ||||||
-Piaui | Present | ||||||
-Sao Paulo | Present | ||||||
Ecuador | Present | ||||||
Peru | Present |
Biology and Ecology
Top of pageClimate
Red mombin is adapted to dry and semi-humid tropics up to 1600 m elevation, as well as to the subtropics. In Guatemala, it is grown from sea level to 2100 m and it is also grown in the subtropics of the Peruvian central coast northwards. It flowers well in wet or dry climates but fruit from dry areas are of better quality. In very cool climates, it can grow but does not flower.
The plant grows best under full sunlight and in places with a prolonged dry season where defoliation is an adaptation mechanism. There seems to be no photoperiod response. It can be found in areas with an average annual precipitation varying from 300 to 1800 mm. In dry areas, it usually sprouts and flowers at the onset of the rainy season.
The spreading and low-branching habit makes the tree less prone to damage by wind, but the brittle branches can be a negative factor when strong winds occur (Duarte and Paull, 2015).
Soil
The tree is able to grow normally on rocky substrates, slopes or different soil types, including those of little agricultural value due to a wide physiological and anatomical plasticity (Pimenta-Barrios and Ramirez-Hernandez, 2003). A mycorrhizal symbiosis can be associated with the root and this favours plant growth by promoting phosphorus absorption (Janick and Paull, 2008).
Flower and Fruit development
Flowering time varies with climate, but usually occurs during the dry season when trees are defoliated or just as the young new leaves emerge. New vegetative shoots are produced and may constitute the major part of the potentially flower-bearing ramets. In areas with year-round precipitation, flowering may occur continuously. In dry areas, depending upon the tree’s phenology, flowering can be controlled by carefully planned irrigation (Macia and Barfod, 2000). If trees are treated with 12% urea to induce defoliation, flowering is advanced by 30-40 days (Almaguer-Vargas et al., 1991).
The parthenocarpic fruit takes about 115 days from anthesis to the start of ripening (Silva et al., 2001). The new vegetative shoots and the fruit mature at the same time. Fruit usually ripen during the dry season, when a high number of hours of exposure to full sunlight produce more sugars and hence better fruit quality (Janick and Paull, 2008).
Uses
Top of pageRed mombin is eaten green, half mature or ripe (Leon, 1983). Green fruit are eaten with salt and vinegar as a snack or boiled in syrup; ripe red fruit are mainly eaten fresh. The soft exocarp is easily injured and so the mesocarp is often processed into marmalade, juice, wine and liquor. The pulp is used to flavour ice cream. In Mexico and Guatemala, dry fruit are eaten in a dessert made with brown sugar; a fermented drink is also prepared in these countries (Duarte and Paull, 2015).
References
Top of pageAvilan, L., Leal, F., Bautista, D., 1989. Manual de Fruticultura; Cultivo y Producción , [ed. by América C.A]. Caracas, Venezuela:437-441
Barbeau, G., 1990. Frutas Tropicales en Nicaragua. Dirección General de Técnicas Agropecuarias, MIDINRA [ed. by Ciencias Sociales]. Managua, Nicaragua, p. 113.
Barfod, A., 1987. Anacardiaceae. In: Flora of Ecuador 30 [ed. By Harling, G., Andersson, L.]. Arlöv, Sweden, pp. 9-49.
Leon, J., 1983. Underutilized fruits of Central America and northern South America. Proceedings of the Tropical Region American Society for Horticultural Science, 27: 1-20.
Distribution References
CABI Data Mining, Undated. CAB Abstracts Data Mining.,
CABI, Undated. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI
Links to Websites
Top of pageWebsite | URL | Comment |
---|---|---|
GISD/IASPMR: Invasive Alien Species Pathway Management Resource and DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway | https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m93f6 | Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list. |
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