Common Name: Abiu

General Information

Abiu is an evergreen tree with a dense crown[]. It grows from 6 - 24 metres tall with a straight bole 30 - 50cm in diameter[, ].
The edible fruit is highly valued. It is gathered from the wild for local use and the plant is also widely cultivated, especially in domestic orchards, as a fruit crop[]. It is often found for sale in local markets[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, north to the Caribbean and through C. America to Costa Rica.

Habitat

Forests, especially in areas that are seasonally flooded, and by the coast, at elevations from sea level to 1,500 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of the hot, wet, tropical lowlands, it requires a year-round moist and warm climate[, ]. Plants are intolerant of frost[].
Succeeds in full sun and in dappled shade[]. Grows well in wet soils[]. Prefers an acid soil[].
Seedling trees take up to 8 years before they start to fruit, and some are very shy fruiters[]. It is therefore best to propagate vegetatively from good fruiting forms[]. Grafted plants can fruit in 3 - 4 years[].
Good forms can fruit twice a year[].
Mature trees may produce anywhere from 100 - 1,000 fruits a year[].
A large tree, it is best kept pruned to about 4 metres tall in order to make fruit harvest easier[].
There are some named varieties[]. The quality of the fruits is much higher in recent selected strains[].
Some forms are self-fertile, though others need cross-pollination[].

Edible Uses

The fully ripe fruit has a delicious flavour - it is eaten raw or used in sherbets and ice cream[, ]. It goes particularly well in fruit salads, especially if they contain orange slices to add acidity[]. A lovely bright yellow fruit with a whitish, translucent flesh that has a jelly-like consistency and a sweetish flavour[]. The fruit has a flavour somewhat like a rambutan[]. It is up to 10cm in diameter[]. Fruit that is not fully ripe can contain a milky latex that sticks to the lips[]. The fruit has a thin skin that bruises easily, so the fruit will not store for more than a few days[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The wood is heavy, hard, straight-grained, of medium texture[]. It is moderately resistant to insect attack, and moderately durable[]. It is used for construction and external work[].

Propagation

Seed - remove it from its husk before sowing[]. Best sown as soon as it is ripe[]. Sow in a nursery seedbed in semi-shade. When sown fresh, the seed usually germinates in 4 - 6 weeks, with a reasonable percentage germinating[, ].
Side-grafting.
Air-layering may be possible[].

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