Glabrescent elaeoluma
Elaeoluma glabrescens

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 25-38 m high. The trunk can be 60 cm across. The young shoots have a few fine hairs. The bark is pale grey and scales off in thin papery scales. The leaves are spaced or loosely clustered and arranged in spirals. They are 8-19.5 cm long by 3-7.6 cm wide. There are about 9-12 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf stalk is 0.5-2 cm long. The flowers are of one sex and separate male and female flowers are on separate trees. The flowers are in tufts of 3-25 flowers. They are pale greenish-white. The fruit stalk is 0.3-1.2 cm long. The fruit are 2-3 cm long. They are broadly oval. They turn reddish, purple and black as they ripen. The fruit are sweet and edible. There is one seed. It is 1.3-1.6 cm long.

There are 4 Elaeoluma species. They are in Central America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows along rivers and in occasionally or permanently flooded forest. It grows in wetlands. It can occur in cloud forest up to 750 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, South America, Venezuela

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Abiurana, Boya de mono, Jarai, Lombrigueira, Mangue, Palo rayao, Pau de rato, Punwoyo, Wene iye, Yuquito banero

Synonyms

Gymnoluma glabrescens (Martius & Eichler) Baillon; Lucuma glabrescens Martius & Eichler; Oxythece ferreirii Cronquist; Oxythece glabrescens (Miquel & Eichler) Monachino; Pouteria glabrescens (Miquel & Eichler) Baehni; Vitellaria glabrescens (Martius & Eichler) Radlkofer;