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This tree, variously referred to as gamboge, egg-tree, false mangosteen and Himalayan garcinia, is native to parts of India and the Malay peninsula. It can be found growing wild on the forested hills of S. India.
(The common name ‘egg-tree’ should not be confused with eggfruit, or, canistel).
The drop-shaped, bright yellow fruit can be eaten raw and are commonly used in jams. The fruit is divided into soft sections, somewhat similar to mangosteen. There are one or two oblong smooth brown seeds embedded in the pulp. Pulp can be used in cooking in the same way as tamarind paste.
As the species name ‘tinctoria’ would suggest the fruit juice and extract are used as dyes
An 8 – 10 foot tree can produce several hundred of fruits in a single harvest (see photos above).
Mature trees can grow quite tall. They have many of the same growth characteristics as mangosteen, only bigger. I don’t know anything about the quality of wood.
Trees have basically the same growth requirements as mangosteen, enjoying ample water during hot and dry periods.
I am not a mycologist, however I have collected edible mushrooms from time to time, typically in northern california. I found these growing on an island in Panama. They resemble oyster mushrooms I’m familiar with in Ca. I’m wondering if they are. A positive ID from anyone in the know would be greately appreciated.
Convolvulaceae, Ipomoea aquatica, water spinach, bwere-mlungu (Chonyl), balanbal (Somali), chamarirobia (Sanya)
The prostrate, much-branched Ipomoea aquatica is a plant associated with wetlands, as the latin species name would indicate. The dirty green stems are hollow and fleshy with white sap, growing rather fat with hairy roots arising from nodes when the plant floats in the water.
The leaves are triangular to heart-shaped, growing up to 15 cm long. Flowers are mauve, purple or pink, and tubular.
In Africa this species grows from Somalia to West Africa and south to Nambia. It is widely distributed throughout other tropical areas of the world as well. Although present in areas of Latin America, one rarely sees it eaten as is common in Africa, South East Asia and China.
The plant likes wetlands, shallow lake basins, seasonally flooded depressions, lake shores, and swampy places.
The leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The leaf blades are separated from their leaf stalk and cooked for a few minutes. Leaves are typically mixed with other vegetables, such as cocoyam, pumpkin, okra and cowpea.
The species is also considered to be good fodder for most animals.
Be mindful that the consumption of I. aquatica have been reported to aggravate stomach ulcers, if you happen to be afflicted by such a condition.
This is a photo of a pre-Colombian fish weir, or fish trap, taken on an island off the Pacific coast of Panama. At high tide, the weir fills with water and fish, then, when the tide recedes fish are left confined within the ring.
Now they are in a state of disrepair, but still clearly visible.
They were probably used in conjunction with the Barbasco plant, or a similar fish poison.
I don’t yet have a Latin name for this plant. The common name is Barbasco. The locals on an island I’m working on use it occasionally as fish poison. The leaves are crushed and the liquid collected. The liquid is then dropped into relatively still water killing the fish (and whatever other marine dwelling creatures are in the vicinity) which float to the water’s surface and are collected. Apparently, the toxicity of the plant doesn’t affect humans when the fish is eaten.
M. flexuosa is a South American palm, occuring naturally across a large area of the northern regions, east of the Andes Mountains, including all of Amazonia except its most eastern part. The tree always grows in open sites, along rivers and streams and in swamps from elevations a few hundred feet above sea level to about 3000 feet. In swamps and flatlands it forms immense colonies in the exclusion of most other trees.
The species name “flexuosa” means translates to flexible, in reference to the leaf segments and the massive petioles.
The solitary trunks of this palm can reach heights of 80 feet, with diameters often in excess of 2 ft.
The leaves are 15 feet wide on large petioles up to 30 feet long with four foot wide bases.
Mauritia flexuosa is definitely one of the most massive and impressive and beautiful of all plams. Unfortunately the species is only adaptable to zones 10b and 11. It is nearly aquatic and, although it will grow in drier areas, the tree will not fulfill its growing potential unless planted in moist environs. It prefers acidic soil.
This species has probably been used by humans for thousands of years and is still of great significance to people. It’s highly nutritious fruit can be eaten raw, also made into a type of flour. It is also fermented in an alcoholic beverage. An oil extracted from the fruit is an important commercial produce in Brazil. Fibers from the leaves are used for making ropes, hammocks and other misc. utensils. The petiole pith is used to make mats and paper. A wine and sago startch are derived from the trunks of felled trees.
