Pithecellobium dulce

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Pithecellobium dulce
Pithecellobium dulce tree
In Kolkata, West Bengal (India)
ripe Pithecellobium dulce bean
Conservation status

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Pithecellobium
Species: P. dulce
Binomial name
Pithecellobium dulce
(Roxb.) Benth.[2]

Pithecellobium dulce is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.[2] It is introduced and extensively naturalised in the Caribbean, Florida, Guam and Southeast Asia like Philippines. It is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.

It is known by the name "Madras thorn", but it is not native to Madras. The name "Manila tamarind" is misleading, since it is neither closely related to tamarind, nor native to Manila. It is called "seema chintakaya" in Telugu. The name "monkeypod" is more commonly used for the rain tree (Albizia saman). Other names include blackbead, sweet Inga,[2] cuauhmochitl (Nahuatl), guamúchil / cuamúchil / huamúchil (Mexico, Spanish), guamá americano (Puerto Rico),ផ្លែអំពិលទឹក(Plaeh umpel tek) (Khmer), Makham thet Thai: มะขามเทศ,ʻopiuma (Hawaiian), kamachile (Filipino),[3] கோணக்காய்/ கோன புளியங்கா/ கொடுக்காப்புளி kodukkappuli (Tamil), ದೊರ ಹುಣಸೆ/ಸೀಮೆ ಹುಣಸೆ dora hunase or seeme hunase (Kannada), વિલાયતી આંબલી vilayati ambli (Gujarati), जंगल जलेबी jungle jalebi or ganga imli (Hindi), তেঁতুল tetul (Bengali), seeme hunase (Kannada), विलायती चिंच vilayati chinch (Marathi) and సీమ చింత seema chinta (Telugu).

Description

P. dulce is a tree that reaches a height of about 10 to 15 m (33 to 49 ft). Its trunk is spiny and its leaves are bipinnate. Each pinna has a single pair of ovate-oblong leaflets that are about 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13.1 ft) long. The flowers are greenish-white, fragrant, sessile and reach about 12 cm (4.7 in) in length, though appear shorter due to coiling. The flowers produce a pod with an edible pulp. The seeds are black.

The seeds are dispersed via birds that feed on the sweet pod. It is drought resistant and can survive in dry lands from sea level to an elevation of 300 m (980 ft), making it suitable for cultivation as a street tree.

Uses

As food

The seed pods contain a sweet pulp that can be eaten raw or prepared as a smoothie.[citation needed]

Ecology

P. dulce is a host plant for the caterpillars of the red-bordered pixie (Melanis pixe), three-spot grass yellow (Eurema_blanda) and many other moths.[4]

Synonyms

This plant is known under numerous junior synonyms:[5]

  • Acacia obliquifolia M.Martens & Galeotti
  • Albizia dulcis (Roxb.) F.Muell.
  • Feuilleea dulcis (Roxb.) Kuntze
  • Inga camatchili Perr.
  • Inga dulcis (Roxb.) Willd.
  • Inga javana DC.
  • Inga javanica DC.
  • Inga lanceolata sensu Blanco
Inga lanceolata Willd. is Pithecellobium lanceolatum
  • Inga leucantha C.Presl
  • Inga pungens Willd.
  • Mimosa dulcis Roxb.
  • Mimosa edulis Gagnep.
  • Mimosa pungens (Willd.) Poir.
  • Mimosa unguis-cati Blanco
Mimosa unguis-cati L. is Pithecellobium unguis-cati
  • Pithecellobium littorale Record
  • Pithecollobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. (lapsus)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pithecellobium dulce.
Wikispecies has information related to: Pithecellobium dulce
  1. ↑ "Pithecellobium dulce - (Roxb.) Benth. Guama Americano". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2010-09-19. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Taxon: Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1994-08-23. Retrieved 2010-03-29. 
  3. ↑ Grandtner, Miroslav M. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees: With Names in Latin, English, French, Spanish and Other Languages 1. Elsevier. pp. 670–671. ISBN 978-0-444-51784-5. 
  4. ↑ "Red-bordered Pixie Melanis pixe (Boisduval, 1836)". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved 2010-09-19. 
  5. ↑ International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Pithecellobium dulce. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2008-MAR-30.

External links

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