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Spondias mombin, Spondias purpurea var. lutea
Yellow Mombin, Hog PlumFamily: Anacardiaceae
Origin: Central America
Mombin is fast growing, spreading tree with thick branches. Compound leaves to 15. Showy, fragrant flowers appear from dormant, leafless branches in red, purple or yellow indicating the color of the fruit to come. Fruit oval to round, 1 - 2 1/2. This is heavy producing tree. The pleasant smell of the fruit can be noted many feet away. The 1 to 2 inch long oval or oblong fruits have a fairly large sigle seed. The skin is waxy and thin and the juicy flesh is aromatic with a plum-like flavor that is acid to subacid. The fruit can be eaten fresh or stewed with sugar as a dessert or can be used to make a very good jam or pickled green in East Indian cooking. Mombin butter, using an apple butter recipe, is exceptionally tasty. The tree is deciduous, fast growing, and may produce fruit before leafing out in the spring. The young leaves can be eaten cooked but they have a sour flavor. The tree grows well in a wide variety of soils. They can be propagated easily by putting large cuttings in the ground and they make a good living fence. It bears May through July.
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