 Spondias mombin is a tree, a species of flowering plant in the
family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas,
including the West Indies. The tree has been naturalized in parts of
Africa, India and Indonesia. It is rarely cultivated.
The great fruit has a leathery skin and a thin layer of pulp. The
pulp is either eaten fresh, or made into juice, concentrate, jellies
, and sherbets. In Suriname's traditional medicine, the infusion of
the leaves is used as a treatment of eye inflammation, diarrhea and
venereal diseases. The seed has an oil content of 31.5%.
Contents
Use in Medicine
The fruit-juice is used as a febrifuge and diuretic. The roots
are well-known febrifuge on the Iv. Coast, being sometimes used with
elaves of Ximenia, Premna hispida, Ficus sp., and Alchornea. They
are pulped, boiled in water, and drunk, or used as a lotion or for
baths. The bark is used as a purgative and in local applications for
leprosy (Kerharo and Bouquet). The bark decoction is used for severe
cough, causing relief through vomiting. The dry pulverized bark is
applied as a dressing to the circumcision wound. The bark contains a
certain amount of tannin. A decoction of the mashed leaves is used
by the Ibos (Nigeria) for washing a swollen face. The leaves, ground
with sugar, are rubbed on the mouth and gums. A leaf infusion is a
common cough remedy or used as a laxative for fever with
constipation. A leaf decoction is used for gonorroea. The leaves
with the leaves of Vitex cuneata and Terminaliia avicennoides, are
used on the Iv. Coast for fresh wounds preventing inflammation. All
these leaves are used for leprosy. Crushed with lemon they are
effective for worms in children. With Alchornea leaves and lemon a
gargle is made from the leaves. They are crushed to obtain the
juice. A decoction of pounded leaves is used as an eye lotion and
the juice pressed from young, warm leaves is given to children for
stomach troubles. The young leaves are used as an infusion taken
internally or as a warm astringent lotion by women in confinement in
Sierra Leone, Sudan. In the Congo the young leaves pounded to a
frothy pulp are used as a bed for paralytics, who are then massaged
with them to the accompaninent of incantations
Language
It has several common names. Throughout the Spanish-speaking
Caribbean and Mexico it is called jobo (derived from the Carib
language ). Among the English-speaking Caribbean islands it is known
as yellow mombin or hog plum, while in Jamaica it is called Spanish
plum, gully plum or coolie plum. In Ghana, it is hog plum or Ashanti
plum. In Nigeria, the fruit is called Iyeye in the Yoruba language,
ngulungwu in Igbo and isada in Hausa. Other common names include
true yellow mombin, golden apple or Java plum, cajá in Brazil. In
Assamese it is called Omora. Similarly in Bengali, it is called Amra.
In Thai it is called makawk (มะกอก). In Surinam the fruit is called
Mope.
Plant Description
A small deciduous tree up to 60 ft. high and 5 ft. in girth,
moderately buttressed; bark thick, corky, deeply fissured, slash
pale pink, darkening rapidly, branches low, branchlets glabrous;
leaves pinnate, leaflets 5-8 opposite pairs with a terminal leaflet,
4 X 2 in., oblong or oblong lanceolate, broadly acuminate, glabrous;
flowers (Jan.-May) sweet-scented, in large, lax terminal panicles of
small white flowers; fruits (July-Sept.) nearly 1.5 in. long, ovoid
yellow, acid, wrinkled when dry; 1 seed.
The fruits have a sharp, somewhat acid taste and are edible. |
