Macaranduba, Abiu
Pouteria ramiflora

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

It is a large tree. It grows 10-25 m high. Often the trunk is short and gnarled. The young shoots have golden-brown hairs. The branches contain a milky latex like sap. The bark is cracked and scaly. The leaves are spaced and arranged in spirals. The leaves are 5-18.4 cm long by 2.5-8.4 cm wide. They are oval. There are 8-16 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf stalk is 0.6-1.8 cm long. The flowers occur in tufts of 5-15 flowers. The flowers are of one sex. The separate sexes occur on separate plants. The flowers are greenish-white. The fruit are green and egg shaped. It is 2.5-5 cm long. The fruit are edible. There is one seed. The seed is 1.6-3.2 cm long. The pulp is soft and white.

There are about 150-320 Pouteria species. They grow in the tropics.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows well on sandy soil. It grows naturally in the Amazon in Brazil. It grows in the tropical savannah. It grows between 200-1300 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, South America

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten fresh.

The fruit are not very popular.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seed are removed from ripe fruit. Seeds only remian viable for a short time. Seeds germinate in 20-40 days.

Plants grow at a moderate rate. The fruit mature 5-7 months after flowering.

Its other names

Local names

Abiu carriola, Abiu do campo, Bacumixa, Curriola, Fruta-de-veado, Fruteira, Grao-de-galo, Graos de gallo, Guajara, Gunjara, Ibacoixa, Mandapuca, Vermelha, Pitomba de leira, Leiteiro-preto

Synonyms

Labatia ramiflora Martius; Labatia chrysophylloides Martius; Lucuma ramiflora (Martius) A DC.; Lucuma chrysophylloides (Martius) A DC.; Labatia elliptica Pohl ex Miquel; Lucuma lateriflora Bentham ex Miquel; Lucuma parviflora Bentham ex Miquel; Pouteria chrysophylloides (Martius) Radlkofer; Pouteria lateriflora (Bentham ex Miquel) Radlkofer; Pouteria parviflora (Bentham ex Miquel) Radlkofer; Pseudocladia lateriflora (Bentham ex Miquel) Radlk.; Microluma parviflora (Benth. ex Miquel) Baillon; Pouteria ramiflora (Martius) Radlk. var. grandiflora Kuntze; Pouteria ramiflora (Martius) Radlk. var. oblongifolia Kuntze; Pouteria ovata A C Smith; Paralabatia parviflora (Benth.ex Miqu.) Aubreville; Paralabatia ramiflora (Martius) Aubreville; Richardella parviflora (Benth. ex Miquel) Baehni;