Guttiferae Mammea americana L.

Engraving from H.Sloane (1707 Jamaican voyage... )
| |	© H.Sloane (Sherardian lib. Oxford)

Keywords in this picture :

• Foliage
• Lamina leaf blade
• Vegetative
• Venation
• Leaf parts
• Leaf
• Plant parts

Places where this species can be found :

• Grenada - GRENADA

Species information

Description
20m Tree; Leaves with many translucent dots. Frutis globose, 7-15cm, 2-4 seeds each 5-8cm x 3-5cm.

Interest
Mammea is derived from the West Indian name for this plant, 'Mammee'. Tea from the leaves is a cold remedy and for high blood pressure ; grated seeds in rum kill head lice or chiggers, and th ebark can also be used to remove chiggers from the feet. The seeds contain coumarins: insecticidal chemicals. A mammy apple placed between other fruits will help ripen them (Politi, 1996). A liqueur, called 'eau de creole' can be distilled from the fragrant flowers (Burkill, 1935). They have a roughened outer coat (exocarp) and a thick, firm, apricot-colored flesh (mesocarp) containing several large, roughened seeds. They can be eaten raw but are commonly stewed and eaten as a dessert. Fruits that are not so ripe are sometimes used for jams and preserves. They were already part of the local diet when Columbus visited these islands in the late fifteenth century.

Specimen information

Collector
Hawthorne, W.D.

Specimen Number
s.n.