Spondias


Spondias is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. The genus consists of 17 described species, 7 of which are native to the Neotropics and about 10 are native to tropical Asia. They are commonly named hog plums, Spanish plums, libas in Bikol and in some cases golden apples for their brightly colored fruit which resemble an apple or small plum at a casual glance. They are only distantly related to apple and plum trees, however. A more unequivocal common name is mombins.
A theory regarding the name of the city of Bangkok, Thailand is that the name is derived from -มะกอกน้ำ; 'water olive', the Thai name for the fruit of Spondias dulcis. In Cambodia, Spondias pinnata is called /pɷːn siː pʰlaɛ/ or /məkaʔ prẹj/, and Spondias dulcis simply /məkaʔ/. Spondias pinnata is called Pulicha kaai in the Tamil language, which means "sour fruit." It is also called "Amate Kaai" in the Kannada language, Ambade in Tulu and Konkani. In Sri Lanka it is called Amberella.

Description

They are deciduous or semi-evergreen trees growing to 25 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, pinnate, rarely bipinnate or simple. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small mango, 4–10 cm long, ripening yellow or orange. It has a single seed.
The Malesian species of Spondias were revised by Ding Hou in 1978. The most recently recognized species, Spondias testudinis, was described in 1998.

As food

About 10 species of Spondias bear edible fruits and have been domesticated for fruit production. These fruits are also consumed by herbivorous mammals such as deer.
In the Western Ghats of Karnataka flower buds and tender fruits are used in pickle preparation.
In Thai cuisine both the fruits and the tender leaves are eaten.

Selected species

, Plants of the World online has 19 accepted species:
Selected synonyms include: