South American locust
A tropical plant. It is native to tropical America. In Costa Rica it grows to 800 m altitude. In Bolivia they grow up to 1200 m altitude. It grows in lowland dry forest in the Amazon in Brazil. It can grow on poor and sandy soils. It grows in Miombo woodland in Africa.
Also known as:
Algarroba, Amami-gum, Begki, Brazilian copal, Buranda, Corama, Courbaril, Cura pisi, Farinheira, Guapinol, Imbuiva, Itaiba, Jatai-amarelo, Jatai-peba, Jatai-vermelho, Jatai, Jataiba, Jatoba-da-catinga, Jatoba-miudo, Jatoba-mirim, Jatoba-preto, Jatoba, Jitai, Kahawanaru arau, Kaurubali, Kawanari, Moire, Motx tere, Not, Paq, Paquio, Pohon kopal Brasil, Pohon jatiba karet, Simiri, Stinking toe, Tongchi, West Indian Locust Tree, Yata-i-bane
Synonyms
- Hymenaea candolleana Kunth.
- Hymenaea resinifera Salisb.
- Hymenaea retusa Willd. ex Hayne
- Hymenaea animifera Stokes
- Inga megacarpa M.E. Jones
- Hymenaea stilbocarpa Hayne
- Hymenaea splendida Vogel
- Hymenaea confertifolia Hayne
Edible Portion
- Fruit, Aril, Bark - drink
Where does South American locust grow?
Found in: Africa, Amazon, Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Hispaniola, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Mozambique, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, North America, Pacific, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, West Indies, Zimbabwe
Notes: There are 16 Hymenaea species. They grow in the tropics. Also as Caesalpinaceae.
Status: The pods are sold in markets. The pulp of the fruit is often eaten by children. It is a cultivated plant.
Growing South American locust
Cultivation: Plants are grown from seed. The ripe fruit are harvested and left in the sun to make them fully ripe and therefore easier to remove the seeds. Seeds can only be stored for 4 months. Seeds germinate in 12-18 days. The seeds can be made to germinate by scraping the seed coat or by dropping them in hot water then putting them quickly into cold water. Seedlings can be transplanted in about 6 months.
Edible Uses: The pulp of the pod is eaten. It is also added to water and can be fermented into an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer. The flour from the pod is eaten. It is also made into porridge. The bark is used to produce a drink.
Production: It is slow growing. In South America it flowers between March to May and fruits by August to October. Trees often fruit every second year. A tree can produce up to 2,000 fruit.
Nutrition Info
per 100g edible portion| Edible Part | Energy (kcal) | Protein (g) | Iron (mg) | Vitamin A (ug) | Vitamin c (mg) | Zinc (mg) | % Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 309 | 5.9 | 3.2 | - | 11 | - | 14.6 |
| Flour | 115 | - | - | - | 33 | - | |
| Flour | 248 | 5.7 | 0 | - | 83.1 | 18 | 11.2 |
South American locust Photos
References
Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 223
Bortolotto, I. M., et al, 2015, Knowledge and use of wild edible plants in rural communities along Paraguay River, Pantanal, Brazil. Journal or Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 11:46
Bortolotto, I. M., et al, 2018, Lista preliminar das plantas alimenticias nativas de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, Serie Botanica, Porto Alegre, 73 (supl.):101-116
Brazil: Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition. http://www.b4fn.org/countries/brazil/
Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 58
Chizmar Fernandez, C., et al, 2009, Plantas comestibles de Centroamerica. Instituto de Biodiversidad, Costa Rica. p 182
Condit, R., et al, 2011, Trees of Panama and Costa Rica. Princeton Field Guides. p 180
Coronel, R.E., 1982, Fruit Collections in the Philippines. IBPGR Newsletter p 10
Cruz, M. P., et al, 2014, Local perceptions and consumption of native wild edible plants from seasonal dry forests in Brazil. Journal or Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:45
Etkin, N. L. (Ed.), 1994, Eating on the Wild Side, Univ. of Arizona. p 138
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 68
Useful plants of Guyana. Non-Timber Forest Products of the North-West District of Guyana Part 1. p 103
Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.wdt.qc.ca)
Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 312
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 351
Hunter, D., et al, 2019, The potential of neglected and underutilized species for improving diets and nutrition. Planta (2019) 250:709-729
Leticia, Z., et al, 2015, Do Socioeconomic characteristics explain the knowledge and use of native food plants in semiarid environments in Northeastern Brazil? Journal of Arid Environments 115:53-61
Lorenzi, H., 2002, Brazilian Trees. A Guide to the Identification and Cultivation of Brazilian Native Trees. Vol. 01 Nova Odessa, SP, Instituto Plantarum p 172
Lorenzi, H., Bacher, L., Lacerda, M. & Sartori, S., 2006, Brazilian Fruits & Cultivated Exotics. Sao Paulo, Instituto Plantarum de Estuados da Flora Ltda. p 139
Maas, P.J. M., Non-Timber Forest Products of the North-West District of Guyana Part 2. The 85 most important NTFP species. p 110
Macbride. J. F., 1942, Flora of Peru. Leguminosae. Field Museum Natural History. Chicago. p 125
Martin, F. W., et al, 1987, Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics. USDA Handbook 642 p 34
Miguel, E., et al, 1989, A checklist of the cultivated plants of Cuba. Kulturpflanze 37. 1989, 211-357
NYBG herbarium "edible"
Omawale, 1973, Guyana's edible plants. Guyana University, Georgetown p 28
Paz, F. S., et al, 2021, Edible Fruit Plant Species in the Amazon Forest Rely Mostly on Bees and Beetles as Pollinators. Journal of Economic Entomology, XX(XX), 2021, 1–13
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu/antilles/West Indies
Polak, A. M., 1992, Major Timber Trees of Guyana. A Field Guide. Tropenbos Series 2. Wageningen. p 103
Poset, D. A., 2002, Kayapo Ethnoecology and Culture. Routledge
Russell, T., Cutler, C., & Walters, M., 2005, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees of the Americas. Lorenz Books. p 220
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 192 (Genus)
Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
Shanley, P. et al, (Eds), 2011, Fruit trees and useful plants in Amazonian life. Non-wood Forest Products No 20. FAO, CIFOR and PPI. p 91
Standley, P. C. & Record, S. J., 1936, The Forests and Flora of British Honduras. (Belize). p 177
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 334
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/econ.pl (10 April 2000)
van Roosmalen, M.G.M., 1985, Fruits of the Guianan Flora. Utrecht Univ. & Wageningen Univ. p 190
Vasquez, Roberto Ch. & Coimbra, German S., 1996, Frutas Silvestres Comestibles de Santa Cruz. p 116
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
www.colecionandofrutas.org
www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/treedb/
Zambrana, P, et al, 2017, Traditional knowledge hiding in plain sight – twenty-first century ethnobotany of the Chácobo in Beni, Bolivia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2017) 13:57
Zuchowski W., 2007, Tropical Plants of Costa Rica. A Zona Tropical Publication, Comstock Publishing. p 267