Spondias mombin (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Spondias mombin L.

Family: Anacardiaceae

Synonyms

• Spondias lutea L.

Vernacular names

• Yellow mombin, hog plum, thorny hog plum (En)
• Prunier mombin (Fr)
• Indonesia: kadongdong cina, kedongdong cucuk, kedongdong sabrang (Sundanese)

Distribution

Native of tropical America. Cultivated in tropical countries, also in Indonesia (Java, Sumatra) and Peninsular Malaysia.

Uses

Fruits are eaten fresh or stewed with sugar; they are also used to prepare jam or juice. Young leaves are used as vegetable. In Indonesia the tree is occasionally planted as a shade tree and the bark can be used to make stamps.

Observations

• Tree, up to 25 m tall and 80 cm in diameter.
• Fruit an ellipsoid drupe, 3-5 cm × 2.5 cm, yellow-orange.

Propagation is easy with cuttings. Naturally growing in lowland forests.

Selected sources

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

• van Steenis, C.G.G.J. et al. (Editors), 1950-. Flora Malesiana. Series 1. Vol. 1, 4-10. Centre for Research and Development in Biology, Bogor, Indonesia, and Rijksherbarium, Leiden, the Netherlands. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London.

Authors

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