Volume 2 > Part 1 > Year 1970 > Page 71 > Rosaceae > Chrysobalanus

Chrysobalanus icaco L.wfo-0000830291

Sp. Pl.: 513. 1753; Vidal in F. C.L.V. 6: 194. pl. 24. 1968.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Shrub. Leaves coriaceous, obovate, 4–6 by 3–4 cm, base broad-cuneate, apex rounded, emarginated or apiculate, glabrous; nerves 7–10 pairs. Petiole short (2–3 mm). Cymes hairy. Calyx tube tomentose outside, ± pubescent inside. Petal white. Stamens ±20. Carpel villous. Drupe plum-sized; exocarp fleshy, yellow, red or violet, edible; stone obovoid, 25 by 15 mm, fluted.

CommonName : Coco (or cocoa) plum.

Uses: Fruit edible.

Notes: This shrub, introduced from tropical America to tropical Africa and Asia of its edible fruit, has not yet been mentioned in Thailand but may be found in cultivation as it is in S Vietnam, Malay Peninsula, and Philippines.