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Spondias tuberosa
Also called Hog Plum
Imbu (Spondias tuberosa), also called umbu or Brazil plum, is a small tree from the dry Caatinga scrub of northeast Brazil, grown for its sweet fruit. It is a species that tolerates long dry spells thanks to a swollen tuberous root system.
Spondias tuberosa, commonly known as imbu, Portuguese pronunciation: [ũˈbu], [ĩˈbu] Brazil plum, or umbu, is a plant native to northeast Brazil, where it grows in the Caatinga, the chaparral scrub that grows wild across dry lands. The round fruit is light yellow to red, around 2–4 cm in size, and has a leathery shell. The flesh is soft and juicy, with a sweet taste and distinct aroma. The fruit comes from a small tree, seldom higher than 6 m, with an expansive crown that can reach 10 m in diameter. The fruit of the imbu are round and can be of varying size: they can be as small as cherries or as large as lemons. The peel is smooth and green or yellow when the fruit ripen, the small firm fruits are juicy and flavorful and their succulent flesh hides a large dark pit.
This tree is an important resource for one of the driest regions of Brazil, where local agriculture is based on corn, beans and palma. The fruit of the imbu tree is collected by hand gently, as it is easily damaged and during picking the fruits are set in baskets and bags (in the past these fruits were also collected by beating the branches with long poles, to the detriment of their flavor).
Jewish plum · Yellow mombin · Common Hog Plum · Purple mombin · Mombin
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Spondias tuberosa 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.
