Spondias purpurea L., Anacardiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hog plum, jocote, purple mombin, red mombin, Spanish plum

French: mombin rouge, prune d'Espagne

Spanish: ciruela española, ciruelo, ovito

Habit:  tree

Description:  "The purple mombin may be a shrub or low-branched small tree in lowlands, or a spreading, thick-trunked tree reaching 25 or even 50 ft (7.5-15 m) in highlands. The branches are thickish and brittle. The deciduous, alternate, compound leaves bright-red or purple when young; 4 3/4 to 10 in (12-25 cm) long when mature; have 5 to 19 nearly sessile, obovate to lanceolate or oblong-elliptic leaflets 3/4 to 1 1/2 in (2-4 cm) long; oblique toward the base and faintly toothed toward the apex. The tiny, 4- to 5-petalled flowers, male, female and bisexual, are red or purple and borne in short, hairy panicles along the branches before the leaves appear. Somewhat plumlike, the fruits, borne singly or in groups of 2 or 3, may be purple, dark- or bright-red, orange, yellow, or red-and-yellow. They vary from 1 to 2 in (2.5-5 cm) in length and may be oblong, oval, obovoid or pear-shaped, with small indentations and often a knob at the apex. The skin is glossy and firm; the flesh aromatic, yellow, fibrous, very juicy, with a rich, plum-like, subacid to acid flavor, sometimes a trifle turpentiney; and it adheres to the rough, fibrous, hard, oblong, knobby, thick, pale stone, which is 1/2 to 3/4 in (1.25-2 cm) long and contains up to 5 small seeds" (Morton, 1987; pp. 242-245).

Habitat/ecology:  "The tree is tropical, ranging from sea-level to 5,500 or 6,000 ft (1,700-1,800 m) in Mexico and Central America; to 2,500 ft (760 m) in Jamaica, in either dry or humid regions" (Morton, 1987; pp. 242-245).

"A native of tropical America and naturalized throughout the tropics, where it is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit; in the Galápagos it is an escape from cultivation" (Wiggins & Porter, 1971; pp. 519-520).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico and Central America; widely naturalized in the tropics (GRIN).

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 invasive 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 invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 14) Vouchers cited: Richer de Forges in MacKee 42922, Sakiman in MacKee 43000
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 471) Cultivated.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Cousin Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 28) Voucher cited: Fosberg 52183 (US)

Additional information:
Information from the Purdue University New Crop web site.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

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

Information about Spondias purpurea as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1983. Natural history of Cousin Island. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

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

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 pp.