Anacardiaceae
Spondias

Spondias purpurea L.

First published in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 613 (1762)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico to N. Colombia. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used as animal food, a poison and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean, Caribbean, Pacific. Elevation range: 0–1470 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Atlántico, Caldas, Cauca, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, San Andrés y Providencia, Sucre, Tolima.
Habit
Tree.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
Vernacular
Ciruelo, Ciruelo calentano, Ciruelo rojo, Jam plum
[UPFC]

Anacardiaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Vernacular
Creole name, “Gambia Plum”
[FWTA]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa y cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 0 - 1470 m.; Andes, Llanura del Caribe, Pacífico, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Árbol
Conservation
No Evaluada
[CPLC]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
cirgüelo, ciruela, ciruela calentana, ciruelo, ciruelo blanco, ciruelo calentano, ciruelo de Castilla, ciruelo hobo, cocota, cocoto, hobo, hobo colorado, hobo manso, jobito, jobo colorado
[UNAL]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/144248337/149030216

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Vernacular
PLUM
Morphology General Habit
A low, spreading, deciduous tree to 5 m tall or more, with arching lateral branches, the bark smooth and greyish; leaves glabrous, with 5–13 or more opposite or alternate leaflets, these elliptic-oblong to obovate, 1.5–4 cm long, acute and mucronate at the apex, and unequal-sided at the base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicles small and few-flowered, produced when the branches are leafless at nodes on the older wood
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers red-purple, the petals 3 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits red or yellow, 3–3.5 cm long, edible.
Distribution
Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac. Widespread in tropical America. Often planted as a ‘quickstick’ fence or for its edible fruits, so that its true natural range would be difficult to ascertain. It is probably not indigenous in the Cayman Islands.
Ecology
Can be found growing wild in rocky thickets.
Note
Other species of Spondias, such as S. dulcis Parkinson, the June plum, may perhaps occur as cultivated trees in the Cayman Islands, but have not been encountered during the preparation of this present book
[Cayman]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Poisons
Poisons.
[UPFC]

Use
Often planted as a ‘quickstick’ fence or for its edible fruits
[Cayman]

Common Names

english
Spanish plum
unknown
Spanish plum, cacao, ciruelas de frayle

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Kew's Living Collection Database

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0