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Spondias mombin
Anacardiaceae FAMILY

Spondias mombin

Spondias mombin

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

The plant grows best in the subhumid and frost-free tropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,000 metres[1, 2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 21 - 27°c, but can tolerate 13 - 35°c[3]. The plant is severely damaged by frost[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 600 - 2,800mm[3]. It can succeed in areas with widely distributed rainfall, or with a marked dry season[4]. Requires a sunny position[3]. Prefers a medium to heavy, well-drained, fertile soil[3]. Plants are not too fussy over soil, not needing very fertile conditions[1]. However, very poor soil, or shallow land, is unsuitable[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8[3]. A fast-growing tree, easily reaching a height of 3.5 metres within 2 years from seed[5]. Fruiting usually starts when seedling trees are about 5 years of age, although well-kept cuttings may start fruiting earlier[2, 4]. Some ripe fruit can be found on the tree during most of the year[2]. Plants produce a deep taproot when young and also have a shallower root system near the surface when older[2].

Propagation

Seed - Fresh seeds germinate well. Seeds germinate within 35-75 days[2]. Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a semi-shaded position in individual containers. A high germination rate can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 20 - 40 days[5]. Seedlings develop rapidly and they should be ready to plant out less than 6 months later[5]. Quite large cuttings of wood from the previous season or older, often 50-100 cm long and 5-10 cm thick[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Spondias+mombin>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  5. [5]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
  6. [6]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  7. [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  8. [8]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  9. [9]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  10. [10]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.