Author Topic: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo  (Read 1652 times)

Caesar

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Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« on: February 18, 2020, 02:28:50 PM »
I placed an order on ARS GRIN, and received a package of 20 Maya Nut seeds. I bagged 'em with moist peat moss, and once most were sprouting, I passed 'em to some party cups filled with potting soil. They're starting to break the surface now, and it seems most will survive, maybe all 20! It's enough to start a small plantation, but I have no land for them... I'll be planting most around town, and praying that the townsfolk let them live. I'll be keeping an eye out for any differences that might mark a tree as being elite, for breeding purposes.

Anyone here have experience with this species? It's very useful, if the info I've read about it is any indication. I seem to recall one person finding them distasteful and preferring Camansi Nut instead (I referenced this in my Moraceae thread), and someone told them that they were tastiest after boiling in Nixtamal (like buttery mashed potatoes). But when I went to look for this source, I couldn't find it... It was some kind of blog I read years ago, so maybe it was taken down. With all the seeds, I debated boiling a couple, but ultimately decided against it. I did find a couple of YouTube videos that referenced the Nixtamal as a way to remove a thin layer of outer skin from the seed, so that missing source seems to have some basis in fact. I can't wait to get them fruiting, so I can taste them myself.

Finca La Isla

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2020, 06:45:07 PM »
Maya bread nut is native here, called ojoche. I have them in my nursery and I’ve sold a few. They’re not hard to grow but will take years to produce.
The interest is mainly from activist people interested in food security. It’s possible to speak with campesinos here who recall their family using ojoche when they were young but I still haven’t found any local people in CR who still go to the trouble to process it.
Guatemala is another story. In the Peten we spent a day with people who process and use ramon. Friends of mine have guerilla planted ojoche along the buffer of a national park here in an area that it occurs naturally but has probably been harvested for the lumber which has a good reputation.
Suerte
Peter

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Caesar

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2020, 10:55:56 AM »
Maya bread nut is native here, called ojoche. I have them in my nursery and I’ve sold a few. They’re not hard to grow but will take years to produce.
The interest is mainly from activist people interested in food security. It’s possible to speak with campesinos here who recall their family using ojoche when they were young but I still haven’t found any local people in CR who still go to the trouble to process it.
Guatemala is another story. In the Peten we spent a day with people who process and use ramon. Friends of mine have guerilla planted ojoche along the buffer of a national park here in an area that it occurs naturally but has probably been harvested for the lumber which has a good reputation.
Suerte
Peter

Food security is my main interest too. I'm trying to gather loads of species for that particular purpose, and Ramón was pretty high on the list. I'm actually doing a bit of Guerilla Gardening myself, but so far I've just planted out Dragonfruit and berries.

I'm taking a local Agroecology course organized by "El Josco Bravo", and one of the professors is from Guatemala. He and the other Prof. recognized it when asked, so I'll be sharing a few of my trees. They said it was very useful, great flour when roasted and ground, good fodder too. A few years' wait is expected with any fruit tree... ¿Do they take even longer than that? If it's less like Artocarpus and more like Mangosteen, I have a long wait ahead of me.


It seems pretty common in Jamaica too. At first I thought they may have been speaking about Breadnut Artocarpus but it is clear enough this is brosimum.
 https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl8DAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA708&lpg=PA708&dq=brosimum+alicastrum+jamaica&source=bl&ots=DTNKgV0S3M&sig=ACfU3U0Vio8S-gtHsgxxFEBJcY5mtciQ9g&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSr5fe8d7nAhXkUN8KHagzAK8Q6AEwCXoECA0QAQ#v=onepage&q=brosimum%20alicastrum%20jamaica&f=false

Strange how these close neighbors have it, and it's almost unheard of in Puerto Rico. I think Sadhu Govardhan grows them, but no one else has them here. Even my Agroecology professors, who recognized it, haven't seen it in PR.

I'll have to remember that "Salted Fish" reference when my tree is producing. We usually boil our starchy staples with salted cod.



My seedlings:



Elopez2027@aol.com

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2020, 04:23:11 PM »
Hey Caesar, I’m in Fajardo. Would you sell me you of your Plants. I promise to transplant and take great care of it.



MameyDisco

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2020, 07:02:14 PM »
Growing a few seedlings of Brosimum alicastrum. Can trade with anyone wanting to grow it if you have something I am interested... located in Florida. Contact me privately.

"Known as Guaimaso, Mayan breadnut, Ramon, Maseco Native/Origin: Tropical America Fast growing & prolifically fruiting evergreen tree. Thin pericarp edible, sweet. Good timber tree. Intensively cultivated by the ancient Maya. Anthropologists theorize that the Mayans had more time to build temples because, unlike corn, ramon seeds could be stored for food for long periods, without molding. Seeds, which are rich in starch, proteins, & Vitamins A and C, are eaten boiled or roasted, and are said to taste like chestnuts. They may also be toasted, ground, and used as a coffee substitute or ground into flour for tortillas. Genus name means 'edible-one'." - Larry Schokman
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pineislander

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2020, 07:08:42 PM »
As I understand these are dioecious (male and female). If you get too many males the wood can be harvested to good effect.
http://www.fincaleola.com/ojoche.html

MameyDisco

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2020, 09:10:35 PM »
I found this interesting.

Edible seeds, leaves and flowers as Maya Super Foods: Function and composition - Armando Cáceres, Sully M. Cruz (2019)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336081929_Edible_seeds_leaves_and_flowers_as_Maya_Super_Foods_Function_and_composition
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MameyDisco

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2020, 09:49:47 PM »
This paper by Dr. David Fairchild would be difficult to find because of a typo in the database. I will try to send this to their attention for correction by the FSHS. I am fortunate to have found this via a search of Brosimum in a Vol. of HUNTIA and noticed a citation.


The Ramon Tree Of The Yucatan (Brosimum alicastrym)

Should be

The Ramon Tree Of The Yucatan (Brosimum alicastrum) by Dr. David Fairchild (1945)
https://journals.flvc.org/fshs/article/view/102305
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Caesar

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Re: Brosimum alicastrum - Maya Breadnut, Ramon, Capomo
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2020, 01:23:32 PM »
This paper by Dr. David Fairchild would be difficult to find because of a typo in the database. I will try to send this to their attention for correction by the FSHS. I am fortunate to have found this via a search of Brosimum in a Vol. of HUNTIA and noticed a citation.


The Ramon Tree Of The Yucatan (Brosimum alicastrym)

Should be

The Ramon Tree Of The Yucatan (Brosimum alicastrum) by Dr. David Fairchild (1945)
https://journals.flvc.org/fshs/article/view/102305

Thanks for the document, I've saved the file.


As I understand these are dioecious (male and female). If you get too many males the wood can be harvested to good effect.
http://www.fincaleola.com/ojoche.html

I've set aside 5 trees to plant in the yard of my local basketball park. I'm really hoping they'll be monoecious... Dioecy is the bane of my fruit collecting efforts, and the 50 year wait for a sequential hermaphrodite to switch sexes seems even worse. Just my speculation, but I think the mother tree may have been monoecious... ¿Would that improve my chances? This is the mother tree:

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?id=1134202