Description

Hog Plum Spondias mombin, also known as yellow mombin is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in South Asia in the beginning of the 17th century. It has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Bahamas, Indonesia, and other Caribbean islands. It is rarely cultivated except in parts of the Brazilian Northeast. The mature fruit has a leathery skin and a thin layer of pulp. The seed has an oil content of 31.5%.

Characteristics:

Spondias mombin is a small deciduous tree up to 20 m (66 ft) high and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in girth, and is moderately buttressed. Its bark is thick, corky, and deeply fissured. When slashed, it is pale pink, darkening rapidly. Branches are low and branchlets are glabrous. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-8 leaflets opposite pairs with a terminal leaflet, 10 cm × 5 cm (4 in × 2 in), oblong or oblong lanceolate, broadly acuminate, glabrous. The flowers bloom January to May and are sweet-scented, in large, lax terminal panicles of small white flowers. Fruits appear July to September and are nearly 4 cm (1.5 in) long, ovoid yellow, acid, wrinkled when dry. The fruits have a sharp, somewhat acid taste and are edible. Their flesh surrounds a single spiny kernel.

Medicinal Uses:

Contain High Amount of Vitamin C. Rich in Antioxidants. Serves as Diuretic and Febrifuge. The fruit wall (pericarp) is used medicinally to promote the flow of blood. The bark is used for treating secondary burns[