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Spondias

(Genus)

Overview

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Spondias is a genus of of the family Anacardiaceae. The genus consists of 17 described species, 7 of which are native to the Neotropics and about 10 are native to tropical Asia. They are commonly named hog plums, Spanish plums and in some cases golden apples for their brightly-colored fruit which resemble an apple or large plum at a casual glance. They are only distantly related to apple and plum trees however. A more unequivocal common name is mombins.

Spondias dulcis, fruit, section and seed

They are deciduous or semi-evergreen trees growing to 25 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, pinnate, rarely bipinnate or simple. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small mango (in the related genus Mangifera), 4-10 cm long, ripening yellow or orange. It has a single seed.

About 10 species of Spondias bear edible fruits and have been domesticated for fruit production.

The name of the city of Bangkok, Thailand is believed to derive from makok (?????), the Thai name for the fruit of Spondias mombin.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Spondias is further organized into finer groupings including:

Sources

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Last Revised: November 21, 2008