''Chrysobalanus icaco'', the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, also called fat pork in Trinidad and Tobago, is a low shrub or bushy tree found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, tropical

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and in southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> An evergreen, it is also found as an exotic species on other tropical islands, where it has become a problematic invasive.
''Chrysobalanus icaco'' at Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) Although

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...

s disagree on whether ''Chrysobalanus icaco'' has multiple

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

or varieties, it is recognized as having two

ecotypes Ecotypes are organisms which belong to the same species but possess different phenotypical features as a result of environmental factors such as elevation, climate and predation. Ecotypes can be seen in wide geographical distributions and may event ...

, described as an inland, much less salt-tolerant, and more upright ''C. icaco'' var. ''pellocarpus'' and a coastal ''C. icaco'' var. ''icaco''.
"''Chrysobalanus icaco''—Coco-plum", Francis, John K., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan PR
Brown ''et al'', Lee County Extension, Institute of Food and Agricultural Services extension, University of Florida Both the ripe fruit of ''C. icaco'', and the seed inside the ridged shell it contains, are considered edible.

Description

''Chrysobalanus icaco'' is a shrub , or bushy tree , rarely to . It has evergreen broad-oval to nearly round somewhat leathery Leaf, leaves (3 to 10 cm long and 2.5 to 7 cm wide). Leaf colors range from green to light red. The bark is greyish or reddish brown, with white specks. The clustered flowers are small, greenish-white, and appear intermittently throughout the year but more abundantly in late spring. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

that follows (a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

) is variable, with that of the coastal form being round, up to 5 cm in diameter, white, pale-yellow with a rose blush or dark-purple in color, while that of the inland form is oval, up to 2.5 cm long, and dark-purple. The fruit is edible, with an almost tasteless to mildly sweet flavor, and is sometimes used for jam. It contains a five- or six-ridged brown stone with an edible white seed. The common name for this fruit in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

is "''fat pork''". The seed's kernel is used ground into a powder and dried, as a spice (variously called ''gbafilo'', ''itsekiri'', ''umilo'',''emilo'' or ''omilo'') as part of West African Pepper Soup Mix. ''Chrysobalanus icaco'' is unable to survive a hard frost, but is planted as an ornamental shrub in subtropical regions due to its appearance, easily manageable size, and tolerance of shallow and variable soils (for example, as

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...

as pH 8.4) and partial shade.
''Chrysobalanus icaco''—Cocoplum, Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, University of Florida Several

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

are available: * 'Red Tip' is of the inland ecotype, and is the most commonly planted in

, often as a

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

. It is a chance occurrence that has pink new growth. * 'Green Tip' is another example of the inland type that has green new growth. * 'Horizontal' is of the coastal type, and tends to root wherever its creeping branches touch the ground, creating clumps over time that can help stabilize the soil. Combined with the high salt tolerance of the coastal ecotype, this characteristic means it can be planted to stabilize beach edges and prevent

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. ''Chrysobalanus icaco'' plays a role in traditional medicine in some parts of its native range, and has been the subject of scientific investigations that have provided evidence of hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antifungal and other pharmacological properties of the leaf extract.Presta, Giuseppe Antonio ''et al''. (2007). Effects of Chrysobalanus icaco on the labeling of blood constituents with technetium-99m and on the shape of the red blood cells. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 50(spe), 145-152

/ref>Bastos Silva, João Paulo ''et al''. (2017). Antifungal activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Chrysobalanus icaco against oral clinical isolates of Candida Species. Pharmacognosy Research, 9, 96-100

/ref>

Gallery

File:Starr 031108-2013 Chrysobalanus icaco.jpg, Fruit of the coastal form File:Starr 031108-2137 Chrysobalanus icaco.jpg, Red leaves on the inland form File:Oleta River State Park - Chrysobalanus icaco - Cocoplum fruit 03.jpg, Fruit and branches of cocoplum growing in Oleta River State Park on

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...

North Miami, Florida North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. Originally the "Town of A ...

- File:Oleta River State Park - Chrysobalanus icaco - Cocoplum leaves 01.jpg, Detail of branches File:Oleta River State Park - Chrysobalanus icaco - Cocoplum fruit 01.jpg, Mature and immature fruits

References

Bush, Charles S. and Morton, Julia F. (1969) ''Native Trees and Plants for Florida Landscaping'' (pp. 64–65). Bulletin No. 193. Department of Agriculture - State of Florida.

External links

Cocoplum at Virginia Tech Dendrology
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q577669 Chrysobalanaceae Halophytes Tropical fruit Trees of Africa Flora of Central America Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Mexico Flora of northern South America Flora of Florida Trees of Îles des Saintes Fruits originating in Africa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of North America Garden plants of Central America Garden plants of South America Flora without expected TNC conservation status