Cajá

''Spondias mombin'', also known as yellow mombin, hog plum, amra or cajazeira, is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in South Asia in the beginning of the 17th century. It has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Bahamas, Indonesia, and other Caribbean islands. It is rarely cultivated except in parts of the Brazilian Northeast.

The mature fruit has a leathery skin and a thin layer of pulp. The seed has an oil content of 31.5%.

Description

''Spondias mombin'' also known as the hog plum is a small deciduous tree up to high and in girth, and is moderately buttressed. Its bark is thick, corky, and deeply fissured. When slashed, it is pale pink, darkening rapidly. Branches are low and branchlets are glabrous. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-8 leaflets opposite pairs with a terminal leaflet, , oblong or oblong lanceolate, broadly acuminate, glabrous. The flowers bloom January to May and are sweet-scented, in large, lax terminal panicles of small white flowers. Fruits appear July to September and are nearly long, ovoid yellow, acid, wrinkled when dry. The fruits have a sharp, somewhat acid taste and are edible. Their flesh surrounds a single spiny kernel.

Use as food

The fruit pulp is either eaten fresh or made into juice, concentrate, jellies, and sherbets.

In Nepal this fruit is called ''Lapsi (लप्सी )'' also ''amaaro'' in some other regions. This fruit pulp is mainly used for pickle called ''Lapsi ko achaar (लप्सीको अचार )'' and also as a dried fruit called ''Lapsi Ko Maada (लप्सीको माड़ा ).'' Nepalese think this fruit is only found in nepal. In Thailand this fruit is called ''makok'' () and is used in ''som tam'' as a secondary ingredient. The young leaves, which taste slightly bitter and sour, are sometimes served raw together with certain types of ''nam phrik'' (Thai chili pastes). It is also served with chili powder in Bangladesh where the fruit is known as আমড়া (amṛa). In India, it is known as ''Amado'' in Konkani, ''അമ്പഴം'' (ambazham) in Malayalam and, ''omora'' in Assamese.

As a member of the sumac family (Anacardiaceae), exposure to the sap of this species may result in an identical allergic reaction to that of the poison ivy plant. Those with a known sensitivity to urushiol should exercise caution in consuming or handling this species.

Traditional medicine

In traditional medicine, ''Spondias mombin'' has had a variety of uses. The fruit has been used as a diuretic and febrifuge. The bark is astringent and used as an emetic and for diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, gonorrhoea, and leukorrhea. The flowers and leaves are used to make a tea for stomach ache, biliousness, urethritis, cystitis, and inflammation.

Common names

''Spondias mombin'' has several common names. Throughout most of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and parts of Mexico it called ''jobo'', derived from the Carib language. In Northern Mexico and most of Cuba it is called ''ciruela''. In the Habla Congo language of the Palo Mayombe religion in Cuba, it is called ''nkunia guenguere kunansieto'. In Nepal it is called Amara (अमरा ).'' In Costa Rica it is called ''yuplón'' after the English name ''gully plum''. In El Salvador, it is called ''Jocote de Corona''. Among the English-speaking Caribbean islands it is known as ''yellow mombin'' or ''hog plum.'' In Jamaica it is also called ''Spanish plum'', ''gully plum'' or ''coolie plum''. In Suriname the fruit is called ''Mope''. In Brazil, the fruit is known by several different names, such as ''cajá'', ''taperebá'' and ''ambaló''. In Peru, it is known as ''uvos'' or ''mango ciruelo''. In Ghana, it is known as the hog plum or ''Ashanti plum'', or ''Akukor'' in the Ewe-speaking regions. In Nigeria, the fruit is called ''Ughighen'' in the Urhobo language, ''Iyeye'' or''Yeye'' in the Yoruba language,See Ayoka ''et al.'' (2008, p.130), Oladele (2008, p.5). Note that Aiyeloja & Ajewole (2006, p.57) give ''agbalumo'' as the local name in Osun State, however other sources identify agbalumo elsewhere in Nigeria with the African star apple, ''Chrysophyllum alibidum'' and related species; see for example Aiyeloja & Bello (2006, p.18) and Oyelade ''et al.'' (2005). ''ngulungwu'' in Igbo and ''isada'' in Hausa. In Somalia, it is called ''Isbaandhees''. In Bengali, it is called ''Amṛa (আমড়া)''. In the southern Indian state of Kerala it is called ''Ambazhanga (അമ്പഴങ്ങ)''. In Kannada it is called ''AmateKaayi'' ''(ಅಮಟೆ ಕಾಯಿ)''. In Goa it is known as ''Ambadde''. In Telugu, it is called ''karakkaya (కరక్కాయ).'' In Sri Lanka, it is called ''Ambaralla (ඇඹරැල්ල).'' In Palauan, it is called ''titimel.'' Other common names include ''hug plum'', ''true yellow mombin'', ''golden apple'' or ''Java plum.''

Gallery

See also

* List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil
* Amazonian cuisine
* '' Spondias purpurea'' (Purple mombin)
* '' Spondias tuberosa'' (Umbú)
* '' Spondias pinnata'' (India)

Notes

References

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External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q794969

mombin
Tropical fruit
Trees of Central America
Trees of the Caribbean
Trees of Northern America
Trees of South America
Trees of Belize
Trees of Costa Rica
Trees of El Salvador
Trees of Guatemala
Trees of Nicaragua
Trees of Panama
Trees of Guyana
Trees of Suriname
Trees of Venezuela
Trees of Brazil
Trees of Bolivia
Trees of Colombia
Trees of Ecuador
Trees of Peru
Trees of Paraguay
Flora of the Amazon
Flora of the Cerrado
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Plants used in traditional African medicine
Medicinal plants of North America
Medicinal plants of South America
Fruit trees