''Platonia insignis'', the sole

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Platonia'', is a tree of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae and Hypericaceae. ...

native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

in the humid forests of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, parts of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and northeast to

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

; especially in

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

. Common names include bacuri (and numerous variant spellings thereof; bacurí, bacury, bakuri, pacuri, pakuri, pakouri, packoeri, pakoeri), maniballi, naranjillo and bacurizeiro. There was a degree of nomenclatural confusion, caused by ''Moronobea esculenta''. If that were validly published for this species the current name would be ''Platonia esculenta''. It was established that ''Moronobea esculenta'' is not a formal name (not "validly published"), so the name remains ''Platonia insignis''. ''Platonia'' is related to ''

Montrouziera ''Montrouziera'' is a genus of shrubs to large trees in the family Clusiaceae, endemic to New Caledonia. As usual in the Clusiaceae, species of this genus are known to contain xanthonoids. ''Montrouziera'' is related to the South American genus ...

'' from

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Description

''Platonia insignis'' is a dry-season

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree, reaching 25–40 m high. It has a pyramidal crown and copious yellow

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

in the bark. The leaves are opposite, simple oblong to elliptic, 8–15 cm long, and glossy dark green, with wavy margins and a leathery texture. The flowers are 5–7 cm long and pink in color, with five petals and numerous stamens. The fruit is round to oval and 7–14 cm long, with a thick, yellow skin. It resembles a

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

. The rind exudes a yellow latex when pressed. The sticky white pulp is fragrant, with a taste that is both sweet and sour. There are 3 to 5 seeds. The white-bellied parrot (''Pionites leucogaster'') is a

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

of the plant, making it

ornithophilous This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

Cultivation and uses

The bacuri is grown for its fruit, which is made into various

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...

s and beverages. It contains high levels of phosphorus, iron, and vitamin C. The oily brown seeds are used as a

home remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

to treat skin conditions. Its yellowish wood is frequently used as timber.

Oil and butter

Bacuri fruit and the butter from the seeds

The grease of the bacuri oil has a high absorption rate, due to its high level of

tripalmitin Tripalmitin is a triglyceride derived from the fatty acid palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and micro ...

(50% to 55%), which penetrates the skin quickly. The high amount of fatty

palmitoleic acid Palmitoleic acid, or (9''Z'')-hexadec-9-enoic acid, is an omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid (16:1n-7) with the formula CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)7COOH that is a common constituent of the glycerides of human adipose tissue. It is present in all tissues ...

(5%), compared to other oils (less than or equal to 0.5 to 1.5%), makes the bacuri oil useful as an emollient and moisturizing agent. Physico-chemical data

Chemistry

''Platonia'' is a natural source of

trioxygenated xanthone A xanthonoid is a chemical natural phenolic compound formed from the xanthone backbone. Many members of the Clusiaceae contain xanthonoids. Xanthonoid biosynthesis in cell cultures of ''Hypericum androsaemum'' involves the presence of a benzophen ...

s. The latex contains resinotol.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana: ''Platonia''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2654886, from2=Q15371504 Clusiaceae Monotypic Malpighiales genera Trees of the Amazon Trees of Brazil Trees of Colombia Trees of Guyana Trees of Paraguay Trees of Suriname Tropical fruit Crops originating from South America Flora of northern South America Taxa named by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius