Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq., Sapindaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Melicoccus bijuga L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: genip, honeyberry, Spanish lime

French: kenépier, quenettes, quenettet, quenettier

Spanish: mamoncillo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "The mamoncillo tree is slow-growing, erect, stately, attractive; to 85 ft (25 m) high, with trunk to 5 1/2 ft (1.7 m) thick; smooth, gray bark, and spreading branches. Young branchlets are reddish. The leaves are briefly deciduous, alternate, compound, having 4 opposite, elliptic, sharp-pointed leaflets 2 to 5 in (5-12.5 cm) long and 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 in (3.25-6.25 cm) wide, the rachis frequently conspicuously winged as is that of the related soapberry (Sapindus saponaria L.). The flowers, in slender racemes 2 1/3 to 4 in (6-10 cm) long, often clustered in terminal panicles, are fragrant, white, 1/5 to 1/3 in (5-8 mm) wide, with 4 petals and 8 stamens. Male and female are usually borne on separate trees but some trees are partly polygamous. The fruit clusters are branched, compact and heavy with nearly round, green fruits tipped with a small protrusion, and suggesting at first glance small unripe limes, but there the resemblance ends. The skin is smooth, thin but leathery and brittle. The glistening pulp (aril) is salmon-colored or yellowish, translucent, gelatinous, juicy but very scant and somewhat fibrous, usually clinging tenaciously to the seed. When fully ripe, the pulp is pleasantly acid-sweet but if unripe acidity predominates. In most fruits there is a single, large, yellowish-white, hard-shelled seed, while some have 2 hemispherical seeds. The kernel is white, crisp, starchy, and astringent." (Morton, 1987).

Habitat/ecology:  Tree up to 30 m, often planted in tropical areas for its fruit. Well adapted to areas of low rainfall and grows to 1,000 m elevation in South America. Will grow in most soils, including very poor ones (Morton, 1987).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Central and northern South America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 81)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1991) (voucher ID: BISH 665336) Taxon name on voucher: Melicocca bijuga
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 179707) Taxon name on voucher: Melicocca bijuga
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Marquesas Islands	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 261)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 261) Voucher cited: Fosberg 60936
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 261) Voucher cited: Grant 4346
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Manihi Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 27) Voucher cited: Brooks & Brooks 64 (BISH)
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Takapoto Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 27)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Flynn, Tim (year unknown)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 127) Vouchers cited: Lambert in Veillon 4822 (NOU), MacKee 42375

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Forms monospecific stands in native forests in the Virgin Islands (Fred Kraus, communications to Aliens listserver).

Additional information:  Photo and additional information at the "Fruits from America" web site.

Additional online information about Melicoccus bijugatus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Melicoccus bijugatus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 179707 (Wilder, G.P. 982).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1991. Voucher specimen #BISH 665336 (Sykes, W.R. 474742).

Flynn, Tim. 0. Tim Flynn, pers. com.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Morton, Julia F. 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, Florida.

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.