The ilama (also known as the tree of the ilama, Latin Annona
diversifolia) is a tropical fruit tree found in Central America. The
name is derived from the Spanish from the Nahuatl ilamatzapotl whose
rough translation is 'old woman's sapote'. The name is also applied
to a similar fruit, soncoya or cabeza de negro (A. pupurea) which is
cultivated as an alternative to the cherimoya. The soncoya is
similar in size to the ilama but grey brown in color with hard bumps
on the surface, and orange flesh that tastes like mango or pawpaw.
The ilama fruit is either eaten on the half-shell or scooped out
with a tool. The ilama is usually chilled when served. It is
sometimes served with a little cream and sugar to intensify the
flavor, or with a drop of lime or lemon juice to bring in a tart and
bitter tinge.
Fruit
The ilama fruit is either cone-shaped, heart-shaped, or ovular.
Resembling the cherimoya, it is about 6 inches (15 cm) long and may
weigh as much as two pounds (900 g). Generally, the ilama is dotted
with more or less pronounced, triangular spikes that jut out of the
fruit, though some fruits on the same tree may vary from rough to
fairly smooth.
There are two types of ilama, green and pink. The green type has
a flesh that is white and sweet, while in the pink type, the flesh
is a rose color and has a tart taste.
The rind, or skin of the ilama varies from a pale-green color to
a deep-pink or purplish color. The ilama is coated with a thick mat
of velvety, gray-white bloom. It is about 1/4 inch thick (6 mm),
leathery, fairly soft, and granular.
The center of both ilamas are somewhat fibrous but smooth and
custardy near the rind. The flesh varies from being dry to being
fairly juicy, and contains 25 to 80 hard, smooth, brown, cylindrical
seeds, about 3/4 inch (2 cm)long, and 3/8 inch (1 cm) wide. Each
seed is enclosed in a close-fitting membrane that, when split,
slides right off of the seed.
[edit] Tree
The tree that produces the ilama stands erect at about 25 feet
(7.5m), and often the branches begin at ground level. The tree is
distinguished by its aromatic, pale-brownish-grey, furrowed bark and
glossy, thin, elliptic to obovate or oblanceolate leaves, 2 to 6
inches (5-15cm) long. Clasping the base of the flowering branchlets
are one or two leaf-like, nearly circular, glabrous bracts, about 1
to 1-3/8 inches (2.5 - 3.5cm) in length. New growth from the tree is
a reddish or coppery color. The flowers of the ilama tree are long
and solitary. They are maroon flowers, which open to the base, and
have small rusty hairy sepals, narrow, blunt, minutely hairy outer
petals, and stamen-like, pollen-bearing inner petals.
[edit] Cultivation
The tree that bears the ilama is harvested in late June in Mexico
and only lasts a couple of weeks. In Guatemala, the harvest season
extends from late July to September, and from July to December where
the Ilama is cultivated in Florida.
According to tradition, the fruits are not to be picked until
cracking occurs, but they can be picked a little earlier and held up
to three days in order for softening to take place. If the ilama is
picked too early, it will never ripen. The yield of the ilama is
typically low. During the normal fruiting period, some trees will
have no fruits; others only 3 to 10, while exceptional trees may
bear as many as 85 to 100 fruits per season.
[edit] History
Francisco Hernandez was one of the first people to document the
ilama. He was sent by King Philip II of Spain in 1570 to take note
of the useful products of Mexico. For many years, people confused it
with the soursop or the custard apple.
The ilama is native and grows wild in the foothills of the
southwest coast of Mexico and of the Pacific coast of Guatemala and
El Salvador. It is strictly a tropical plant. It does not grow
naturally higher than 2,000 feet (610 m) in Mexico; although in El
Salvador it is cultivated at 5,000 feet (1,524 m), and in Guatemala,
it is cultivated up to 5,900 feet (1,800 m). The ilama survives best
in climates where there is a long dry season followed by plentiful
rainfall. The tree is irrigated in areas where rainfall does not
fall periodically.
[edit] Nutrition facts
According to analyses made in El Salvador, the food value per 100
g of edible portion of the fruit is as follows:
Moisture, 71.5 g
Protein, 0.447 g
Fat, 0.16 g
Fiber, 1.3 g
Ash, 1.37 g
Calcium, 31.6 mg
Phosphorus, 51.7 mg
Iron, 0.70 mg
Carotene, 0.011 mg
Thiamine, 0.235 mg
Riboflavin, 0.297 mg
Niacin, 2.177 mg
Ascorbic Acid, 13.6 mg |
