''Talisia esculenta'' is a medium-sized

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

native to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, and is found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The tree and fruit are called ''pitomba'' in English, Portuguese and Spanish, olho-de-boi, pitomba-rana and pitomba-de-macaco in Portuguese, ''pitoulier comestible'' in French and cotopalo in Spanish and ''karajá bola'' in Guarani. ''Pitomba'' is also used as the name for '' Eugenia luschnathiana.''

Description

''Talisia esculenta'' can grow to a height of 9–20 m, with a trunk up to 45 cm diameter. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are arranged alternately, pinnately compound, with 5–11 leaflets, the leaflets 5–12 cm long and 2–5 cm broad. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are produced in a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

10–15 cm long, the individual flowers small and white. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is round to ellipsoid in shape, 1.5–4 cm in diameter. Beneath the outer peel is the white, translucent, sweet-sour pulp with one or two large, elongated seeds.

Uses

The fruit is eaten fresh and used to make juice. The sap is used as a fish poison.

References

International Plant Genetic Resources Institute: ''Talisia esculenta''
(in Portuguese)
Field Museum: herbarium specimen (photo)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2600407 esculenta Tropical fruit Flora of the Amazon Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Peru Flora of Paraguay Flora of Bolivia

Description

Uses

See also

References