Platonia insignis, the sole species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Platonia, is a tree of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Clusiaceae

Clusiaceae

The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. is a family of plants formerly including about 37 genera and 1610 species of trees and shrubs, often with milky sap and fruits or capsules for seeds. It is primarily tropical...

 native to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 in the humid forests of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, parts of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and northeast to 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...

; specially in Amazon Rainforest

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...

. Common names include Bacuri (and numerous variant spellings thereof; Bacurí, Bacury, Bakuri, Pacuri, Pakuri, Pakouri, Packoeri, Pakoeri), Maniballi, Naranjillo and Bacurizeiro.

There was a degree of nomenclatural confusion, caused by Moronobea esculenta. If that were validly published and were to apply to this species the correct name would be Platonia esculenta. Recently this has been cleared up: it has been decided that Moronobea esculenta is not a formal name (not "validly published"). The name remains Platonia insignis.

Description

Platonia insignis is a dry-season deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 tree, reaching 25–40 m high. It has a pyramidal crown and copious yellow latex

Latex

Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

 in the bark. The leaves are opposite, simple oblong to elliptic, 8–15 cm long, glossy dark green, with wavy margins and a leathery texture.

The Platonia insignis flowers are 5–7 cm long, pink, with five petals and numerous stamens. The fruit is round to oval, 7–14 cm long, with a thick, yellow skin, looking similar to a papaya

Papaya

The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...

. This rind exudes a yellow latex when pressed. The sticky white pulp, which is wrapped around the three to five seeds somewhat like a pomegranate

Pomegranate

The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...

, is fragant, with a taste that is both sweet and sour.

The white-bellied parrot P. l. leucogaster

White-bellied Parrot

The White-bellied Parrot , in aviculture often referred to as the White-bellied Caique, is one of the two species in the genus Pionites of the Psittacidae family; the other species being the allopatric Black-headed Parrot...

has been reported to pollinate it, making it an ornithophilous plant.

Cultivation and uses

The bacuri is also grown for its fruit, which contains notable amounts of phosphorus, iron, and vitamin C, and is often made into various condiment

Condiment

A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...

s and beverages. Bacuri seeds, which are brown and fairly oily, are commonly used as a home remedy

Home remedy

A home remedy is a treatment to cure a disease or ailment that employs certain spices, vegetables, or other common items. Home remedies may or may not have medicinal properties that treat or cure the disease or ailment in question, as they are typically passed along by laypersons...

 to treat skin conditions. Its yellowish wood is frequently used as timber.

Chemistry

Platonia is a natural source of trioxygenated xanthones. The latex is composed of resinotol.