Guaba venezolana, Proud inga
Inga fastuosa

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It grows 10 m tall. The trunk is short and branched and 15 cm across. The bark is smooth and brown with small cracks. The crown is spreading. The twigs and pods have reddish hairs. The leaves are large and compound. They are They are 15-30 cm long. There can be up to 4 or 5 pairs of leaflets along the stalk. These are narrowly oval and shiny. The leaflets have winged stalks. The flowers are large and greenish white. They do not have stalks and occur along an axis 15 cm long. The fruit are large brown pods 25-40 cm long and 6 cm wide and thick and flat.

It is used as shade for coffee.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, West Indies

How it is used for food

The pulp around the seeds in the pod is sweet and edible.

Edible parts

Fruit - aril, pod pulp

How it is grown

Plants grow easily from seeds. Seeds germinate in 1-2 weeks given moisture and shade.

The tree grows rapidly.

Its other names

Local names

Hairy pois doux, Guaba peluda, Guamacho peludo, Guama venezolana, Guamo cajeto, Guamo peludo, Huapo shimbillo

Synonyms

Feuilleea fastuosa (Jacq.) Kuntze; Feuilleea venosa (Griseb. ex Benth.) Kuntze; Inga guaremalensis Pittier; Inga venosa Griseb. ex Benth.; Mimosa fastuosa Jacq.;