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Inga edulis
Also called Ice Cream Bean
Inga edulis, the ice-cream bean, is a fast-growing leguminous tree native to tropical Central and South America, grown for its sweet white pulp, shade, and timber. The key to growing it is a warm, humid, wet-tropical climate with plenty of moisture and nitrogen-fixing root partners.
Inga edulis, known as ice-cream bean, paterna, whitey, padoo, cushín (short variety), joaquiniquil, cuaniquil (both from Nahuatl: cuahuxinicuile combining cuahuitl "tree"; icxitl "feet" and necuilli "crooked") guama, or guaba, is a fruit native to Central and South America. It is in the mimosoid tribe of the legume family Fabaceae. It is widely grown, especially by Indigenous Amazonians, for shade, food, timber, medicines, and production of the alcoholic beverage cachiri. It is popular in Peru, Ecuador, Pernambuco-Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Costa Rica and Colombia. The taxonomic generic name Inga is derived from its name with the Tupí people of South America (ingá) while the specific name edulis is Latin for "edible". The common name "ice-cream bean" alludes to the sweet flavor and smooth texture of the pulp.
I. edulis is widely cultivated in agroforestry systems in its neotropical dispersal area. This form of cultivation, often associated with coffee or cocoa culture, is widely known since pre-Columbian times. Germination of I. edulis seeds is fairly easy, as the seeds are recalcitrant and often germinate already in the pod. Seeds lose their ability to germinate, though, after two weeks of storage. Direct sowing of the seeds is possible, but the establishment of seedlings with already a certain height can decrease competition with noxious weeds, thus increasing growth. Further, the inoculation with rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi in depleted soils is recommended to promote growth. These inoculi can easily be produced by collecting soil, nodules, and fine roots from mature, nodulated I. edulis stands. This species seems to be very resistant to pests and diseases. Minor damage can result from fungal attacks in the seedling stage. Mature I. edulis can be defoliated by Lepidoptera larvae. Also, fruit fly larvae often damage the seed testa. In Ecuador, I.
The natural distribution of I. edulis spreads from Central to South America, and ranges from subtropical dry to tropical wet conditions. It can be found at elevations from sea level up to 2200 m. I. edulis grows best when mean annual daytime temperatures range from 23 to 30 °C. However, it can tolerate 18–35 °C. During the resting period, mature trees can survive −2 °C, while young plants are killed at 0 °C. Preferred annual precipitation ranges from 1200 to 2500 mm but 640 to 4000 mm of annual precipitation can be tolerated, also. It can be grown on a widely varying range of soil conditions. It prefers a soil pH of 5.0–6.5, but can also grow in very strongly acidic soil down to a pH of 4.5 or moderately alkaline conditions up to pH 8.0. The natural habitat includes margins of large rivers like the Amazon, thickets below high water line, and wooded swamps. The tree can tolerate temporarily waterlogged soils for 2–3 months each year, but it can also tolerate drought seasons up to 6 months. Furthermore, I. edulis can cope with heavy soils or slope fairly well.
Food crop
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Inga edulis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
