Yellow Mombin (Spondias mombin)

Family: Anacardiaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Spondias mombin, or Yellow Mombin, is a flowering tree native tropical America. It is deciduous with a dense and spreading crown and grows up to 25 m tall and at least 60 cm in trunk diameter. The bark is thick. The leaves are compound, comprising five to nine pairs of leaflets. The flowers occur on terminal stalks. The fruits, small and yellow, have leathery skin and thin layer of pulp, and single-seeded.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds, Leaves, Roots/Tubers, Sap/Syrup

Harvest Seasons: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Pleasantly acid, the fleshy fruit is eaten raw or cooked with sugar. — Fruit - raw or cooked.; Pleasantly acid, the fleshy fruit is eaten raw or cooked with sugar.; It is also used for making jams, ice cream etc.; Juices improve with keeping overnight as the mild astringency of the fresh fruit disappears.

Habitat & North American Range

Occurs in a great variety of humid tropical climates, often in secondary vegetation derived from evergreen lowland forest or semi-deciduous forest. (Zone 10)