''Licania pyrifolia'', commonly known as , is a species of flowering tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It has large green fruits, similar in size to the

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

, greenish with whitish freckles. It is widespread in the

Llanos The Llanos (Spanish ''Los Llanos'', "The Plains"; ) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, sav ...

or Great Plains of the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

river. The fruit is edible and it used to be planted near the Fundos for shade because it is evergreen and because of its fruit. It contains compounds that can be used to control snails and other mollusks harmful to crops.Braca, A., Bilia, A. R., Mendez, J., Pizza, C., Morelli, I., & De Tommasi, N. (2003). Chemical and biological studies on Licania genus. In Studies in natural products chemistry (Vol. 28, pp. 35-67). Elsevier. Its Latin name alludes to its leaves being similar to those of the pear tree. It is the flagship tree of the state of Apure in Venezuela.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5975025 Trees of Colombia Trees of Venezuela pyrifolia