Couma utilis
(Mart.) Muell. Arg.
Milk tree, Couma
(c) Riccardo Rocca, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Riccardo Rocca
(c) Riccardo Rocca, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Exudate, Sap
The fruit is eaten raw. Small and round, resembling a guava, it has an edible sweet, fleshy pulp with a flavour like mangaba (Hancornia speciosa) with a hint of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota). The brown, globose fruit is about 4cm in diameter. The latex tapped from the tree has a sweet flavour and is used as a chewing gum and to flavour drinks.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows naturally in the lowland Amazon in Brazil. It is often in dry, non flooded zones. It grows up to 1,000 m above sea level.
Amazon, Brazil*, Colombia, Peru, South America, Venezuela*,
How to Identify
A medium sized tree. It grows 5-17 m tall. The trunk is 5-20 cm across and has latex. The leaves are simple and opposite or alternate. The leaves are oblong and 5-10 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. The fruit are small and round. They are 2-4 cm across. They look a little like a guava. The pulp is sweet and edible. They contain several seeds.
Nutrition Score: 17/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 68.7 | — | — | 3.6 | — | — | — | — |
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed. The ripe fruit are harvested and put into a plastic bag to rot the flesh and make the seeds easier to remove. The ripe seeds are sown and germinate in 20-40 days.
Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a lightly shaded nursery seedbed. A high germination rate can be expected, with seeds sprouting within 20–40 days. Transplant seedlings into individual containers when 4–6cm tall, and plant out 5–6 months later.
Medicinal Uses
The latex from the tree is anthelmintic and antiseptic. It is eaten to treat diarrhoea, worms, and parasites, and applied externally to treat skin irritations.
Other Uses
Latex tapped from the tree was traditionally used for caulking boats and is used for a variety of industrial purposes including varnishes, ceramics, and glues. The wood is fine-textured, straight-grained, moderately heavy, with moderate mechanical properties and very low durability. It is used in cabinet-making, carpentry, and general construction.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Couma utilis, called the milk tree, sorvinha, sorveira, sorva (a name it shares with its larger relative Couma macrocarpa), and sorva-pequena, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, native to the Orinoco and Amazon basins of South America. It is thought that C. utilis was on the verge of being domesticated by indigenous Amazonian peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans in the New World.
Production
Plants develop at a moderate rate.
Other Information
The fruit are sold in local markets. It is a cultivated fruit tree.
Names & Synonyms
Couba, Cuma, Cumai, Gaimaro-macho, Juansoco, Pendarito, Saruvina, Sorva-miuda, Sorva-pequena, Sorva, Sorvilha, Sorvinha, Sowa
References (16)
- Fouqué, A. 1972. Espèces fruitières d'Amérique tropicale. Institut français de recherches fruitierès outre-mer (ifac)
- Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 168
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 223
- INFOODSUpdatedFGU-list.xls
- Janick, J. & Paul, R. E. (Eds.), 2008, The Encyclopedia of Fruit & Nuts. CABI p 72
- Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 1854
- Lopez-Diago, D. & Garcia, N., 2021, Wild edible fruits of Colombia. Biota ColomBiana 22 (2) p 29
- Lorenzi, H., 2002, Brazilian Trees. A Guide to the Identification and Cultivation of Brazilian Native Trees. Vol. 02 Nova Odessa, SP, Instituto Plantarum p 42
- Lorenzi, H., Bacher, L., Lacerda, M. & Sartori, S., 2006, Brazilian Fruits & Cultivated Exotics. Sao Paulo, Instituto Plantarum de Estuados da Flora Ltda. p 59
- Martin, F. W., et al, 1987, Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics. USDA Handbook 642 p 82
- C. F. P. Martius, Fl. bras. 6(1):19. 1860
- NYBG herbarium "edible" (As Couma multinervis)
- Paz, F. S., et al, 2021, Edible Fruit Plant Species in the Amazon Forest Rely Mostly on Bees and Beetles as Pollinators. Journal of Economic Entomology, XX(XX), 2021, 1–13
- Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
- TodaFruta.com.br
- Villachica, H., (Ed.), 1996, Frutales Y hortalizas promisorios de la Amazonia. FAO, Lima. p 255
