Inga edulis Mart., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 3 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Mimosa ynga Vell.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: ice cream bean

French: pacayer, pois doux

Maori (Cook Islands): k!kō, pākaiē

Other: pakai

Spanish: chalaite, cuajiniquil, guaba, guaba de bujuco, guaica de machete, guava bejuco, guava de mico, pacay

Tahitian: pakai

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Small trees up to 17 m tall, with broad spreading crown, almost flat; bark gray; trunk usually contorted, cylindrical, 30 cm or more in diameter and branching 1-2 m from base; leaves simply pinnate, 10-30 cm long, with 4-6 pairs of large oval leaflets, each pair separated by a winged rachis, the smallest pair below, the terminal leaflet 1.5 dm long and half as broad, membranous, minutely pubescent on both surfaces; flowers fragrant, sessile, solitary, arranged in crowded heads at tips of stems, peduncles 2-4 cm long, or flowers may be solitary in upper axils and fasciculate and subcorymbose below; calyx puberulent, striate, 5-8 mm long; corolla silky-villous, 14-20 mm long; bractlets oblong-lanceolate, about 5 mm long, caduous by full anthesis; pods with very thickened sulcate margins, 4-angled, up to 2 m long, 1-3 cm in diameter, flat or twisted, with white sweet pulp surrounding the seeds" (Duke, 1983).

"Árbol grande, de hasta 40 m de alto y 65 cm de diámetro, los individuos de gran tamaño con raíces tablares de hasta 1 m de altura y el fuste acanalado en la base por varios metros; corteza externa lisa, color grisáceo pálido, a veces con anillos horizontales, la corteza interna de color rosado o marrón pálido, de 3-5 mm de espesor; hojas compuestas, el raquis alado con 4-6 pares de folíolos elípticos, los más grandes de 10-20 x 4-8 cm, la cara inferior de las hojas con pubescencia de pelos apretados a la superficie; ectarios foliares con una abertura transversalmente comprimida; inflorescencias axilares, a veces agrupadas cerca del extremo de la ramita en las axilas de hojas no desarrolladas, cada inflorescencia de 2-10 cm de longitud con las flores dispuestas en una espiga congesta y subtendida por escamas de 4-8 mm de longitud, suavementefragrantes, color verde amarillento con estambres blancos; legumbre de 30-100 cm de longitud (en plantas cultivadas a menudo más grandes), 2-5 cm de diámetro, color verde grisáceo, cilíndrica, recta o revirada en espiral, con prominencias longitudinales y pubescencia de pelos cortos" (Pennington and Revelo, 1997; pp. 154-156).

Habitat/ecology:  Planted as shade for coffee and cacao trees (Wiggins & Porter, 1971; pp. 649-650). "Abundant along margins of large rivers; common in thickets usually below the high-water mark, and in wooded swamps. Also in ravines, upland woods at edge of rivers and adjacent rainforests. Requires a tropical climate with plenty of moisture. Found from sea level to 2,200 m where there is no frost. Ranging from Subtropical Dry to Moist through Tropical Dry to Wet Forest Life Zone, ice-cream bean is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 6.4 to 40.0 dm (mean of 9 cases = 16.9 dm), annual mean temperature of 21.3 to 27.3øC (mean of 9 cases = 25.1øC), and pH of 5.0 to 8.0 (mean of 7 cases = 6.6)." (Duke, 1983)

"Es una especie de los claros en bosques pluviales de llanura en tierras no inundable, ocasionalmente reportada en las riberas de los ríos; persiste en la vegetación secundaria" (Pennington and Revelo, 1997; pp. 154-156).

Propagation:  "Propagates naturally by seeds in the forest" (Duke, 1983).

Native range:  Northern and western South America; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in the neotropics (GRIN).

"La distribución silvestre de I. edulis se extiende desde Colombia a través de la mayor parte de Sudamérica tropical al este de los Andes hasta la costa de Brasil, en altitudes hasta de 700 m." (Pennington & Revelo, 1997; pp. 154-156).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1976) (voucher ID: BISH 664512) Taxon name on voucher: Inga edulis Mart.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 78) Vouchers cited: Baumann 3784, MacKee 15888, MacKee 23284, MacKee 31831, Benoit in MacKee 37518, MacKee 44028, Chauveau in MacKee 45139
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1979) (voucher ID: BISH 664071) Taxon name on voucher: Inga edulis Mart.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1971) (voucher ID: BISH 664513) Taxon name on voucher: Inga edulis Mart.
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Koror (Oreor) Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (pp. 13, 81)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced	Waterhouse, Barbara (year unknown) Northern Queensland
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	El Salvador (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Comments:  Becoming invasive in northern Queensland (Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Inga edulis, please let us know.