Chichapi, Iguana hackberry
Celtis iguanaea

Family: Cannabaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It grows to 4 m high. The trunk is 12-15 cm across. The branches are horizontal. They are flexible and have spines. It can form thickets. The leaves are alternate and have teeth along the edge. They are 5-7 cm long by 2.5-4 cm wide. They are oval and taper to the tip. The flowers contain both sexes. The fruit is fleshy and with a hard stone inside. The fruit are green when immature and yellow when ripe.

There are 70-100 Celtis species. They are mostly in the tropics. There are 8-10 species in tropical America. Also put in the family Ulmaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. In Bolivia it grows between 300 and 2000 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (country/location of origin), Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, Suriname, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, West Indies (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw.

They are not very popular. The fruit are enjoyed by children.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The ripe fruit are harvested and put into a plastic bag to allow them to soften making it easier to remove the seeds. The seeds are washed under running water. Fresh seeds are planted and they germinate in 4-6 weeks.

Plants grow quickly.

Its other names

Local names

Amhe, Cipo laranjinha, Cockspur, Cola de iguana, Cueretaro, Duasii, Esporao-de-galo, Granjeno, Grantigallo, Grao-de-galo, Gumbixava, Jameri, Joa-mirim, Juasy'y, Maiz tostao, Manto, Niwasu'imi, Ovo-de-galo,Satajchi, Tala, Taleira, Tontu, Una de gato, Yuasii, Zidc-muc

Synonyms

Celtis aculeata Sw.; Celtis anfractuosa Liebm.; Celtis glycycarpa Mart. ex Miq.; Celtis morifolia Planch.; Celtis pubescens (F. Dietr.) Spreng.; Celtis williamsii Rusby; Mertensia laevigata Kunth.; Momisia iguanaea (Jacq.) Rose & Standl.; Rhamnus iguanaea Jacq.; and others