Chrysobalanus icaco
Encyclopedia
Chrysobalanus icaco, the cocoplum, Paradise Plum and icaco , is found near sea beaches and inland throughout the tropical Americas and the Caribbean
, including Cuba
, southern Florida
, and the Bahamas. The inland subspecies
is Chrysobalanus icaco pellocarpus.
(3 to 10 cm long and 2.5 to 7 cm wide). Leaf colors range from green to light red. The bark is greyish or reddish brown, with white specks.
The flowers are small, white, in clusters, appearing in late spring. In late summer it bears fruit
in clusters, that of the coastal form being round, up to 5 cm in diameter, pale-yellow with rose blush or dark-purple in color, while that of the inland form is oval, up to 2.5 cm long, and dark-purple.
The coastal form is highly tolerant
of salt
, so it is often planted to stabilize beach edges and prevent erosion
.
Chrysobalanus icaco is also planted as an ornamental shrub
. The tree is unable to survive a hard frost. The fruit is edible and is used for jam. The common name for this fruit in Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana
is "fat pork".
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, including Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and the Bahamas. The inland subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
is Chrysobalanus icaco pellocarpus.
Description
Chrysobalanus icaco is a shrub 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft), or bushy tree 2–6 m (6.6–19.7 ft) , rarely to 10 metres (32.8 ft). It has evergreen broad-oval to nearly round somewhat leathery leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
(3 to 10 cm long and 2.5 to 7 cm wide). Leaf colors range from green to light red. The bark is greyish or reddish brown, with white specks.
The flowers are small, white, in clusters, appearing in late spring. In late summer it bears fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
in clusters, that of the coastal form being round, up to 5 cm in diameter, pale-yellow with rose blush or dark-purple in color, while that of the inland form is oval, up to 2.5 cm long, and dark-purple.
The coastal form is highly tolerant
Halophyte
A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...
of salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
, so it is often planted to stabilize beach edges and prevent erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
.
Chrysobalanus icaco is also planted as an ornamental shrub
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. The tree is unable to survive a hard frost. The fruit is edible and is used for jam. The common name for this fruit in Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
is "fat pork".