Pouteria jariensis
Pires & Pennington
Abiu, Guajara, Zolive
Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium (ASU-Plants)
Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium (ASU-Plants)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
Many species, such as Pouteria sapota, have edible fruits and are important foods, seasonally. Some are being commercially collected and sold on local markets or packed in cans. Pouteria species yield hard, heavy, resilient woods used as firewood and timber, but particularly in outdoor and naval construction, such as dock pilings, deckings, etc. Some species, such as abiu (P. caimito), are considered to be shipworm resistant, but this depends on the silica content, which may vary from 0.0-0.9%. The weight by volume (at 12% moisture content) of Pouteria wood can be in excess of 1140 kg/m3 (71 lb/ft3; thus, the wood sinks in water. The wood of Pouteria species is prone to considerable movement and warping when it dries out, but in its main use, naval construction, this is not a problem, since the wood never gets really dry. The vessel elements are relatively small and usually di- to quadriseriate; the medullary rays are fine and close together. Pouteria woods are capable of attaining an excellent polish using fine-grained sandpaper and possibly some wax. They can sometimes show an attractive figure of dark stripes against a sandy to mid-brown background colour. However, the wood is hardly used for furniture because it is so dense that items made from it would be difficult to transport. Moreover, it is nearly impossible to work using hand tools. Even using power tools, working these woods presents some problems, as well, but given some patience and practical knowledge, these can easily be solved. For the silica to be effective against shipworms, it needs to dry to some degree to harden. When the wood is continually waterlogged, this process may take place very slowly or not at all, leaving the wood vulnerable. Pouteria foliage is used as food by some Lepidoptera caterpillars, including those of the dalcerid moth Dalcera abrasa, which has been recorded on P. ramiflora. The fruits are important food for various animals, such as the rock-haunting ringtail possum (Petropseudes dahli). Due to habitat loss and in some cases overexploitation, many species of Pouteria are threatened. At least 10 are close to extinction.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in lowland mixed forest. It grows on non flooded land. It can grow between 200-650 m altitude.
Amazon, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, South America, Suriname,
How to Identify
A tree. It grows 26 m high. The trunk can be 40 cm across. It has simple buttresses 1.5 m high. The young shoots have soft hairs. The bark becomes grey and scaly. The leaves are spaced or loosely clustered. They are arranged in spirals. The leaves are 6.5-18 cm long by 3.6-7.6 cm wide. They are broadly oval. The leaf stalk is 1-2 cm long. The flowers occur in tufts of 2-5 flowers in the axils or below leaves. The flowers can have both sexes. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is 2.5-3 cm long. It is oval. The fruit ripen to yellow or orange. The fruit is edible.
Notes
There are about 150-320 Pouteria species. They grow in the tropics.
References (4)
- Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 526
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 691
- Pennington, T.D., 1990, Sapotaceae in Flora Neotropica Monograph 52. New York Botanical Gardens. p 331
- Van Roosmalen, M.G.M., & Garcia, O. M., 2000, Fruits of the Amazonian Forest. Part 2: Sapotaceae. Acta Amazonica 30(2): 187-290
