Rollinia mucosa (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Rollinia mucosa (Jacq.) Baillon

Family: Annonaceae

Synonyms

• Rollinia orthopetala A. DC.,
• Rollinia deliciosa Safford.

Vernacular names

• Biriba (En, Por).

Distribution

Native of Central and South America, where it is also cultivated. Introduced in Malesia in the early 1900s.

Uses

The fruit is eaten raw and is extremely popular in Brazil. Juice from the fruit is used to make wine. The wood is yellow and hard, and used for canoes, boat masts, boards and boxes. Medicinally the fruit is regarded as analeptic and antiscorbutic; powdered seeds are used to cure enterocolitis.

Observations

• Fast-growing tree, 4-15 m tall.
• Fruit a pseudocarp, conical to heart-shaped, up to 15 cm in diameter; rind yellow, with wart-like protrusions; pulp white, juicy, with numerous dark brown seeds.

Tree of the hot humid tropics.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 ed. 3 Volumes. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Technical Bulletin 10. Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines.

• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd ed. 2 Volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.

• Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd ed. 3 Volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch Indië. 1953 pp.

• Mansfeld, R. & Schultze Motel, J., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kuturpflanzen. 2nd ed. 4 Volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 1998 pp.

• Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems Inc., Winterville, N.C., USA. 503 pp.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen