The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: Hollywood on July 09, 2012, 05:28:59 PM
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My trip to the market in San Ignacio yielded some finds that were new to me, but mostly mediocre. This is the first time I've uploaded images to a forum, so apologies beforehand if it doesn't work.
I have always heard of the ice cream bean but had never tried it. The guy in the market called it Inga paterna. It was sweet and I can see why it is eaten primarily by children: it is tedious and you don't get a lot of flesh for the effort. I think I had imagined that there would be more fluff inside.
(http://s17.postimage.org/jxiu5gvyz/IMG_0944_Copy.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/jxiu5gvyz/)
(http://s17.postimage.org/endve6bq3/IMG_0963.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/endve6bq3/)
Below is Supa (Creole), or Cocoyol (Spanish). It is a fruit that is marinated in brown sugar syrup. Unfortunately I lost the bag before I had a chance to try it. Actually, maybe it is the dish that is called Supa and not the fruit.
(http://s15.postimage.org/u0cer7zav/IMG_0961.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/u0cer7zav/)
The berries below are called "Craboo." They are used for making a wine or liquor. The berries were not offensive, but kind of mealy, with a small hard seed in the center.
(http://s8.postimage.org/ymbtw8nox/IMG_0945.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/ymbtw8nox/)
Here is "Waya," or "Kinep." I am not very picky when it comes to fruit, but Yuck. Sized like a lychee, peels like a lychee...NOT a lychee. It is slimy, sticky and very astringent. I had to get my toothbrush to rake the remaining slime off the back of my tongue, after my failed attempts to swallow. An internet search indicates that I may have eaten this unripe. It SEEMED ripe, so I think eating this fruit would take a certain amount of practice and/or luck.
(http://s7.postimage.org/kvnpr5x4n/IMG_0959.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/kvnpr5x4n/)
Finally, "Dog Balls." Only children eat this fruit when they are running around through the bushes. I tried while horseback riding and it is tasteless. I am told that fruit from the coffee tree tastes similar.
(http://s12.postimage.org/c899jnrdl/IMG_0951.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/c899jnrdl/)
(http://s12.postimage.org/5j2q3n61l/IMG_0952.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/5j2q3n61l/)
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Katie, doesn't seem like you liked anything you tried? Too bad! The ice cream bean is Inga and there are a lots of different species, and some do have a lot of pulp inside and are easy to open. The yellow berries are not berries at all but a fruit tree called nance. It makes a great ice cream. The kinep is called Spanish Lime in english and can be quite good tasting, but pulp sticks like crazy to the seed, and there's not all that much to eat, just a lot of sucking on the seed.
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I liked the ice cream bean but I wish there had been more pulp! The other stuff I could live without, although I'm glad I got to try some new things. This was my second trip to Belize and I loved it. For anyone traveling to the rainforest in Belize, I highly recommend the Chaa Creek ecolodge, especially the "camp," where the home cooked meals are better than the restaurant's!
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Katie - you can find Kineps, commonly known as Spanish Limes/Genips/Mamoncillos in SFla, sold in bags on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale area (Sunrise Blvd/Powerline and surrounding areas) a little later in the summer. They are eaten at various stages of ripeness and they can range from astringent and downright sour to semi sweet/sour.
Nance trees can be purchased in SFla and can be found growing in the PB/Broward/M-D County area.
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Katie - you can find Kineps, commonly known as Spanish Limes/Genips/Mamoncillos in SFla, sold in bags on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale area (Sunrise Blvd/Powerline and surrounding areas) a little later in the summer. They are eaten at various stages of ripeness and they can range from astringent and downright sour to semi sweet/sour.
Nance trees can be purchased in SFla and can be found growing in the PB/Broward/M-D County area.
There are some really good tasting selected cultivars tasting a bit like candy. It's a very popular fruit in Puerto Rico where they are called quenepa. It's just a bit tedious dealing with super clingstone pulp. This is one fruit that certainly could use improvement, namely seedless fruits! If seedless types could be developed it could be almost on par with good rambutan, longan, or even lychee.
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Katie, doesn't seem like you liked anything you tried? Too bad! The ice cream bean is Inga and there are a lots of different species, and some do have a lot of pulp inside and are easy to open. The yellow berries are not berries at all but a fruit tree called nance. It makes a great ice cream. The kinep is called Spanish Lime in english and can be quite good tasting, but pulp sticks like crazy to the seed, and there's not all that much to eat, just a lot of sucking on the seed.
I think it would be better to say its called Spanish Lime in the US and not just in English because many of the English speaking Caribbean calls it names such as Genip in Jamaica, or Chenette in Trinidad.
Puerto Rico has been selecting improved cultivars for a few years now and there are some cultivars such as Sasa and Jose Pabon which are a bit more freestone and higher brix. Those two cultivars are becoming more common in South Florida now because they were introduced to TREC by Bryan Brunner in 2004 and those including a few other cultivars from PR are also be grown at Fairchild Farm. Pine Island and Excalibur have begun propagating both cultivars. At the University of PR they have a selection program going on right now to find better cultivars of Spanish Lime that were being grown in the island. I will see if I can find the pdf that lists all of them.
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Hi Katie and thanks for posting pics of your fruit encounters. It was nice to meet you at the BRFVC meeting on Saturday. My expereinces with Inga and Spanish Lime (momoncillo, quenepa, chenette, etc) have also been underwhelming to say the least. Ice Cream Bean, Inga species, that I have tried have had about as much resemblence to ice cream as I have to say Katy Perry (hint......that's no resemblence whatsoever for those that have not seen me). There are supposedly some wortwhile Ingas in South America somewhere. I have had this discussion with Felipe of our fourm back on Garden Web. I am still waiting for that fateful day when I encounter an Inga worth fighting with and then eating. I did plant one out from seed about 15 years ago. It fruited in a few years and then I yanked. It was an attractive tree....but a waste of fruiting space.
On the Spanish Lime front.......I would have to describe Oscar's hopes for developing a Spanish Lime that rivals lychees, longans and rambutan as a major pipe dream and will not likely happen in our lifetime. While apreciated by island people (read that as...... those that have never tasted lychees) they are best know for choking young children to death because of the seed size and need to suck on the seeds to have any hope to get the flesh off of it.
Harry
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On the Spanish Lime front.......I would have to describe Oscar's hopes for developing a Spanish Lime that rivals lychees, longans and rambutan as a major pipe dream and will not likely happen in our lifetime. While apreciated by island people (read that as...... those that have never tasted lychees) they are best know for choking young children to death because of the seed size and need to suck on the seeds to have any hope to get the flesh off of it.
They call them Limoncillo here in the DR, and I wouldn't let any of my kids eat them, I have known people that lost a child to these things. There size and slipperiness make for the perfect choke hazard. they are no where as popular as in times past because of this reason.
To many other great fruit in the world.
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Haus Inga edulis is worthwhile and there is variation between trees in the flesh yield and sweetness of the flesh.I tried a very good bean a few weeks ago and wa surprized at how good it was.
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Tropicdude (or anyone else)-
What do you think about the safety of hog plum/jacote? I was considering planting one on the swale outside my fence (so the kids would have to ask permission to go get some and be supervised while eating) but now I'm getting a little freaked out (kids do not always listen)...
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Tropicdude (or anyone else)-
What do you think about the safety of hog plum/jacote? I was considering planting one on the swale outside my fence (so the kids would have to ask permission to go get some and be supervised while eating) but now I'm getting a little freaked out (kids do not always listen)...
It may not be kids you have to worry about. If you plant this on the swale of a public road you may find a lot of 2 legged thieves helping themselves to the fruit before the kids ever get a chance to eat it.
I understand your concerns, after hearing about the mamoncillos, but I think you are worring a bit too much. There are many food items kids can get a hold of that can harm them (i.e. - choking on a seed of a fruit) or make them sick that I don't think I would worry about a hog plum (I don't know your area kids but I would question if they would even like them). There is also, and would be for most fruits that grow in atree, that they would eventually have to climb a ladder or the actual tree to pick the fruit. If you are truly worried and want to plant something that will provide kids with fruit they can pick and eat, go with something that has no seeds. Maybe a green/white mullberry ?
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Rob, thanks for the input. When I was referring to "the kids" I was speaking of my own progeny; the fence is to protect the public from them. ;)
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Rob, thanks for the input. When I was referring to "the kids" I was speaking of my own progeny; the fence is to protect the public from them. ;)
You had said, " I was considering planting one on the swale outside my fence "...I figured by that that it would be "open to the general public.
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Hi Katie and thanks for posting pics of your fruit encounters. It was nice to meet you at the BRFVC meeting on Saturday. My expereinces with Inga and Spanish Lime (momoncillo, quenepa, chenette, etc) have also been underwhelming to say the least. Ice Cream Bean, Inga species, that I have tried have had about as much resemblence to ice cream as I have to say Katy Perry (hint......that's no resemblence whatsoever for those that have not seen me). There are supposedly some wortwhile Ingas in South America somewhere. I have had this discussion with Felipe of our fourm back on Garden Web. I am still waiting for that fateful day when I encounter an Inga worth fighting with and then eating. I did plant one out from seed about 15 years ago. It fruited in a few years and then I yanked. It was an attractive tree....but a waste of fruiting space.
On the Spanish Lime front.......I would have to describe Oscar's hopes for developing a Spanish Lime that rivals lychees, longans and rambutan as a major pipe dream and will not likely happen in our lifetime. While apreciated by island people (read that as...... those that have never tasted lychees) they are best know for choking young children to death because of the seed size and need to suck on the seeds to have any hope to get the flesh off of it.
Harry
There were other cynics like yourself that said the same thing to me about the possibility of a seedless lychee. In fact there was a geneticist that told me it was "impossible" to have a seedless lychee because an aril needs a seed around which to develop. So much for that theory!
As for ice cream bean, true it doesn't taste like ice cream, i would have named it cotton candy bean. Some people really adore this fruit. For example, look at Adam Gollner's book Fruit Hunters. He said it was the best fruit he ever tasted! The ingas are incredibly multi purpose trees: they fix nitrogen, can be used for alley cropping, grow in the worst of soils, make great shade trees, always with beautiful flowers, the lumber is useable, and on top of that they produce edible pods. Should be much more widely planted in my opinion. Some of the inga species from southern Brazil can also take some cold so would do well in Florida and parts of California.
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It will be on the swale, open to the general public. Part of the reason for placing it outside the fence, versus inside, is the concern that the little kids of this household might eat it and choke when I've got my back turned. If it is outside the gate, the hope is that they'll obey the house rules and not go out without an escort. Of course, I don't want neighborhood kids choking on it either, but I figure if they're out roaming the streets unsupervised they are well beyond the primary choking risk cutoff, which is 5 years of age. There do not seem to be many Latinos in the neighborhood, so I'd be surprised if anyone even realized what it is (although a couple Indian families have been driving through the neighborhood and have knocked on my door several times this mango season, so fruit hunters are everywhere, I guess). I am not adverse to sharing, I just hope people leave us a few.
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There were other cynics like yourself that said the same thing to me about the possibility of a seedless lychee. In fact there was a geneticist that told me it was "impossible" to have a seedless lychee because an aril needs a seed around which to develop. So much for that theory!
As for ice cream bean, true it doesn't taste like ice cream, i would have named it cotton candy bean. Some people really adore this fruit. For example, look at Adam Gollner's book Fruit Hunters. He said it was the best fruit he ever tasted! The ingas are incredibly multi purpose trees: they fix nitrogen, can be used for alley cropping, grow in the worst of soils, make great shade trees, always with beautiful flowers, the lumber is useable, and on top of that they produce edible pods. Should be much more widely planted in my opinion. Some of the inga species from southern Brazil can also take some cold so would do well in Florida and parts of California.
And where and by whom is all this improvement of this species (spanish lime) taking place? I suppose if we can get life out of some mix of organic compounds over time as supposedly occurred millions of years ago, spanish limes could become as good as its old world family members. Might take a long time and will only happen after an extensive program of breeding and selection. So let the process begin.
Harry
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Hi Katie and thanks for posting pics of your fruit encounters. It was nice to meet you at the BRFVC meeting on Saturday. My expereinces with Inga and Spanish Lime (momoncillo, quenepa, chenette, etc) have also been underwhelming to say the least. Ice Cream Bean, Inga species, that I have tried have had about as much resemblence to ice cream as I have to say Katy Perry (hint......that's no resemblance whatsoever for those that have not seen me). There are supposedly some wortwhile Ingas in South America somewhere. I have had this discussion with Felipe of our fourm back on Garden Web. I am still waiting for that fateful day when I encounter an Inga worth fighting with and then eating. I did plant one out from seed about 15 years ago. It fruited in a few years and then I yanked. It was an attractive tree....but a waste of fruiting space.
On the Spanish Lime front.......I would have to describe Oscar's hopes for developing a Spanish Lime that rivals lychees, longans and rambutan as a major pipe dream and will not likely happen in our lifetime. While apreciated by island people (read that as...... those that have never tasted lychees) they are best know for choking young children to death because of the seed size and need to suck on the seeds to have any hope to get the flesh off of it.
Harry
I would say be that's a good thing and I wouldn't recommend you dyeing your hair pink or blue to up that resemblance factor!
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Tropicdude (or anyone else)-
What do you think about the safety of hog plum/jacote? I was considering planting one on the swale outside my fence (so the kids would have to ask permission to go get some and be supervised while eating) but now I'm getting a little freaked out (kids do not always listen)...
I haven't tried the hog plums, doubt they are as risky as spanish limes, its not that I am over protective or anything, but I have heard of so many cases with Spanish limes. the reason these are such a problem is that the pulp is attached to the seed, so kids will pop em whole in their mouths, and suck on them, not just nibble on them. next time you eat one, pay attention to how your doing it, if you suck on them you kind of raise the back of your tongue to prevent swallowing it.
anyway I am not saying every kid will choke on these, but they are a higher risk than most fruit.
parents usually tell the kids to eat them without putting them in their mouth, they bite off half the skin part, then use the other half to hold the seed, and tell kids to suck on it that way, not 100% foolproof, but safer than having it in their mouths while playing and jumping around.
As for the Inga, now that sounds like a fun thing, I got a small tree in April.
My 2.5 and 7 year old love cherry tomatoes, ( Florida tomato ) and miracle fruit. we also have Jujubes, which are like little apples. my only mango tree with fruits on it is the Ice Cream, with 3 mangoes on it, they already told me which one was theirs when they get ripe, in other words none for daddy :)
last month we had the Grumichamas.
I much prefer them snacking on these things then candies.
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There were other cynics like yourself that said the same thing to me about the possibility of a seedless lychee. In fact there was a geneticist that told me it was "impossible" to have a seedless lychee because an aril needs a seed around which to develop. So much for that theory!
As for ice cream bean, true it doesn't taste like ice cream, i would have named it cotton candy bean. Some people really adore this fruit. For example, look at Adam Gollner's book Fruit Hunters. He said it was the best fruit he ever tasted! The ingas are incredibly multi purpose trees: they fix nitrogen, can be used for alley cropping, grow in the worst of soils, make great shade trees, always with beautiful flowers, the lumber is useable, and on top of that they produce edible pods. Should be much more widely planted in my opinion. Some of the inga species from southern Brazil can also take some cold so would do well in Florida and parts of California.
And where and by whom is all this improvement of this species (spanish lime) taking place? I suppose if we can get life out of some mix of organic compounds over time as supposedly occurred millions of years ago, spanish limes could become as good as its old world family members. Might take a long time and will only happen after an extensive program of breeding and selection. So let the process begin.
Harry
There is some work on Meliccocus being done in PR. Up until recently almost all fruits sold were wild harvested. Now people are starting to plant trees and pay more attention to them. Even if just a freestone fruit could be developed that would be a tremendous improvement. Same thing happened with pulasan, which used to be considered an inferior fruit till freestone cultivars were developed. I tasted some of the improved versions of quenepa in Puerto Rico. They tasted quite nice but were still quite clingstone. This is a potentially very good fruit, it's just been neglected for a very long time, and little improvement done until very recently.
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Hi Katie,
Thanks for sharing with us your trip to Belize :) The fruits look awesome ;)
It's a pity that the inga germinates inside of the pod :'( makes it a bit difficult for the seeds to travel :(
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Sorry to take a brief detour off-topic.
Pulasan varieties: Dow, Lee, P1, P3, P36, Sibabat, Unnamed.
Hey Oscar you may know the answer to this question.The above are 7 pulasan varieties assessed at Kamerunga from 1970 to 1987.A further 4 types were evaluated after this as well until 1994 including a purple giant, green meritam and big black.I tried fruit from pretty well all the trees in 1995 just prior to them being chopped down.A couple were virtually seedless with only occasional fruit having seeds and at least half you would call freestone.Do these names and descriptions ring some bells with pulasan types you are seeing in hawaii? Do you know the source of hawaiin pulasans? I am having no luck in trying to find out how many types are still around here and where they are.
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Hi Katie,
Thanks for sharing with us your trip to Belize :) The fruits look awesome ;)
It's a pity that the inga germinates inside of the pod :'( makes it a bit difficult for the seeds to travel :(
Hi Steven, like i mentioned in a previous thread if you pick the pod when it is still a bit green but already filled out then the seeds will NOT be germinated inside. And it's much better to eat at that stage also. The seeds will probably start to germinate en route if longer than 5 days, but that is not a problem at all.
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Sorry to take a brief detour off-topic.
Pulasan varieties: Dow, Lee, P1, P3, P36, Sibabat, Unnamed.
Hey Oscar you may know the answer to this question.The above are 7 pulasan varieties assessed at Kamerunga from 1970 to 1987.A further 4 types were evaluated after this as well until 1994 including a purple giant, green meritam and big black.I tried fruit from pretty well all the trees in 1995 just prior to them being chopped down.A couple were virtually seedless with only occasional fruit having seeds and at least half you would call freestone.Do these names and descriptions ring some bells with pulasan types you are seeing in hawaii? Do you know the source of hawaiin pulasans? I am having no luck in trying to find out how many types are still around here and where they are.
Seebabat is the only one i recognize from your list. There were a bunch of pulasan cultivars trialed here at the experimental station in Hilo but don't have a list of their names.
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It's a pity that the inga germinates inside of the pod :'( makes it a bit difficult for the seeds to travel :(
Hi Steven, like i mentioned in a previous thread if you pick the pod when it is still a bit green but already filled out then the seeds will NOT be germinated inside. And it's much better to eat at that stage also. The seeds will probably start to germinate en route if longer than 5 days, but that is not a problem at all.
Oscar,
That's very clever 8) Pick them green but mature...the seeds will germinate properly...Awesome 8)
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Steven, here is a photo of Inga edulis. That is the species that is usually referred to as ice cream bean. The one that Hollywood posted is a totally different species, not ice cream bean. You can see also on my photo that the seeds are not sprouted. Also edulis has different color seeds than the photo posted.
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/IngaEdulis.jpg)
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Hang on I'll show you an inga edulis.
(http://s14.postimage.org/bj2nghcsd/DSCF4895.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/bj2nghcsd/)
(http://s18.postimage.org/dienu5hr9/DSCF4896.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/dienu5hr9/)
(http://s10.postimage.org/9k7ykyk5h/DSCF4897.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/9k7ykyk5h/)
This one seemed to be from a tree that produces fleshy pods with very nice tasting pulp.The grower insisted that I take it and try today.
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Howdy Oscar and Mike,
Thank you both for share them pics :) another awesome plant to have in the orchard 8) I have seen an Inga edulis fruit on the web that the fruit hanged from the tree and was so long that it touched the ground :o
In Brazil they are usually called Ingá-de-metro(Inga of a meter) and Ingá-cipó(Inga-vine) for obvious reasons.
I found few uses for Ice cream bean;
Uses;
Shade and litter. Inga edulis has been used as a shade tree for perennial crops--mainly coffee and cacao--since the beginning of the nineteenth century. Many farmers value it as much for soil
protection as for shade. The leaf litter protects the soil surface and roots of other plants, helps retain nutrients in the topsoil, and (most importantly for farmers in the humid tropics) controls weeds.
Improved fallow. In Amazonian Peru, Szott and Meléndez (1991) grew crops on land cleared and burnt after seven different fallow treatments. Land where Inga edulis had been planted gave the highest crop yields--34% higher than crops following natural forest fallow.
Alley cropping. In species trials in Costa Rica, Peru and Brazil, I.edulis was outstanding in terms of growth. Coppice regrowth was also good after pruning. In four out of five trials, crop yields were higher under alley cropping with I. edulis than in control plots (Smythe, 1993; Fernandes et al., 1991; Salazar et al., 1991; Salazar and Palm, 1991; M. Hands, personal communication). In two of these trials, crops performed better with I.edulis than with other species (Salazar and Palm, 1991; M. Hands, personal communication).
The litter is high in nitrogen, lignins and polyphenols. It is slow to decompose, but provides a long-term build up of organic nitrogen (Palm and Sanchez, 1990) and effective weed control. Weed biomass decreased considerably in all agroforestry trials with I. edulis, much more than with other leguminous species (Salazar and Palm, 1991). On cultivated slopes, I. edulis mulch reduced soil erosion to levels almost equal to those under secondary forest (Alegre and Fernandes, 1991). Existing trials are still too new to ascertain whether I. edulis can maintain or improve soil fertility on acid sites in the long term, but results so far are promising.
Other uses. The large fruit is popular throughout the region where I. edulis is distributed. Fruits are sold in local markets in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Costa Rica. The branches are a popular source of fuelwood, with a high calorific content and little smoke, but the trees are not cultivated specifically for fuelwood.
The link;
http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/inga.htm (http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/inga.htm)
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High Steven, the inga does indeed improve soils with dropping of leaf litter. I can see big change under my tree, from rock hard to spongy mass. Also the roots fix nitrogen. Take a look at the root nodules on just a small inga plant i was transplanting.
(http://fruitlovers.com/Gallery1/IngaSeedlingRootNodules.jpg)
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they look like giant churros.
I like the name churro bean better than icecream bean!
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they look like giant churros.
I like the name churro bean better than icecream bean!
Churros without deep fried oil...so a whole lot more healthy to eat!
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High Steven, the inga does indeed improve soils with dropping of leaf litter. I can see big change under my tree, from rock hard to spongy mass. Also the roots fix nitrogen. Take a look at the root nodules on just a small inga plant i was transplanting.
Hi again, Oscar ;D
The root nodules look awesome on your young Inga seedling 8) I'm astonished reading about your soil's transformation from rock hard to spongy mass...From what I have been reading about this plant is that the ''spongy'' soil, that the plant creates by it's self, hold much more moisture(less irrigation) than normal soil and of course the plant is a water lover and doesn't like the drought. The tree start to produce around it's 3rd year and two plants are needed to have an excellent productivity. The tree prefers a subtopical to Tropical climate for proper development.
I found this vid on Inga Edulis;
inga.m2ts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md_8yPQzY_A#ws)
Is it true...that the plant grows that fast in 6 months time? and looks like the seeds are in high demand...for rehabilitation of the soil and stopping the slash and burn technique that is destroying our beloved lung(Forests :'( )
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deep fried icecream bean?
sounds healthy enough...I will try soon. they look like giant churros.
I like the name churro bean better than icecream bean!
Churros without deep fried oil...so a whole lot more healthy to eat!
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High Steven, the inga does indeed improve soils with dropping of leaf litter. I can see big change under my tree, from rock hard to spongy mass. Also the roots fix nitrogen. Take a look at the root nodules on just a small inga plant i was transplanting.
Hi again, Oscar ;D
The root nodules look awesome on your young Inga seedling 8) I'm astonished reading about your soil's transformation from rock hard to spongy mass...From what I have been reading about this plant is that the ''spongy'' soil, that the plant creates by it's self, hold much more moisture(less irrigation) than normal soil and of course the plant is a water lover and doesn't like the drought. The tree start to produce around it's 3rd year and two plants are needed to have an excellent productivity. The tree prefers a subtopical to Tropical climate for proper development.
I found this vid on Inga Edulis;
inga.m2ts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md_8yPQzY_A#ws)
Is it true...that the plant grows that fast in 6 months time? and looks like the seeds are in high demand...for rehabilitation of the soil and stopping the slash and burn technique that is destroying our beloved lung(Forests :'( )
Hi Steven, yes it's true inga grows super fast and in super poor soils. Rather than bring in wood chips you can plant one of these trees, radically cut it back, and chip it, or slice it up with machete, every few months, and apply inga mulch around other plants. That is what they mean by alley cropping in that video. Keep in mind also that there are between 250 to 300 species of ingas, depending on what taxonomist you consult, so there is one that will fit most subtropical and tropical places. Some species also stay small. They all fix nitrogen, and all are edible. I have 1/2 a dozen species right now. This is a very valuable tree that has been super neglected, and could be used to great advantage, especially in areas with poor soils.
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(http://s12.postimage.org/ypba6cu8p/DSCF4912.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/ypba6cu8p/)
One thing I have noticed with Inga edulis is that the best local ones with big (3 to 4 feet) sweet beans and a high flesh yield don't have black seeds.They are shades of maroon with some almost black.Extracted from a 3 feet bean at perfect ripeness these seeds were in various stages of sprouting.This type has seeds fully surrounded by thick flesh.
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Don't think color of seeds has much meaning. I often see different colored seeds in same pod, usually black and green, depending on stage of maturity. But haven't seen marooned colored seeds yet.
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Oscar I think it is just a case of the beans I like best allowing me to identify them because they always have maroon to black seeds.It seems to be the case at various stages of ripeness.It is a bit like the brown seeded atemoya I posted in the other thread.
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they look like giant churros.
I like the name churro bean better than icecream bean!
Olá Adão,
Awesome to hear you also have Churros over there 8) We have them too. ;D The last time i ate them, was last year :o I'm on a strict diet...can't play around with them deep fried goodies :P
High Steven, the inga does indeed improve soils with dropping of leaf litter. I can see big change under my tree, from rock hard to spongy mass. Also the roots fix nitrogen. Take a look at the root nodules on just a small inga plant i was transplanting.
Hi Steven, yes it's true inga grows super fast and in super poor soils. Rather than bring in wood chips you can plant one of these trees, radically cut it back, and chip it, or slice it up with machete, every few months, and apply inga mulch around other plants. That is what they mean by alley cropping in that video. Keep in mind also that there are between 250 to 300 species of ingas, depending on what taxonomist you consult, so there is one that will fit most subtropical and tropical places. Some species also stay small. They all fix nitrogen, and all are edible. I have 1/2 a dozen species right now. This is a very valuable tree that has been super neglected, and could be used to great advantage, especially in areas with poor soils.
Hi Oscar,
:o Super fast and in super poor soils 8) That's extraordinary! If I was in the tropics and deciding to plant a mangosteen(or other garcinias) plantation, this plant will be chosen as a shade/alley trees...The fertility of the soil will much richer and the mangosteen will grow much faster with the extra nutrients available in the soil 8) I check out a website that had a book on Inga and more that 250 species are documented. I also check out some species like Ingá Açu(Assu)-Inga cinnamomea which take 1 years to produce after planting,Ingá-cipó-Inga edulis takes 2 years are planting, and Ingá peua-Inga quadrangularis takes 3 years to produce after planting.
I agree, Oscar...Since they are from Fabaceae family...they will all fix nitrogen in their roots 8) Super neglected is very true :'( They will rise again ;D I have also read a comment of person and quite frankly, he was really rude :o...citing the death to Ice cream bean for being an invassive plant in he's location >:(
If you don't mind me asking. What are those species of Inga you are growing?
One thing I have noticed with Inga edulis is that the best local ones with big (3 to 4 feet) sweet beans and a high flesh yield don't have black seeds.They are shades of maroon with some almost black.Extracted from a 3 feet bean at perfect ripeness these seeds were in various stages of sprouting.This type has seeds fully surrounded by thick flesh.
Hi Mike,
I found a similar Ice cream as the one you posted about. Maybe, you know this fruit loving Aussie? ;D
http://www.capetrib.com.au/icebean.htm (http://www.capetrib.com.au/icebean.htm)
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they look like giant churros.
I like the name churro bean better than icecream bean!
Olá Adão,
Awesome to hear you also have Churros over there 8) We have them too. ;D The last time i ate them, was last year :o I'm on a strict diet...can't play around with them deep fried goodies :P
High Steven, the inga does indeed improve soils with dropping of leaf litter. I can see big change under my tree, from rock hard to spongy mass. Also the roots fix nitrogen. Take a look at the root nodules on just a small inga plant i was transplanting.
Hi Steven, yes it's true inga grows super fast and in super poor soils. Rather than bring in wood chips you can plant one of these trees, radically cut it back, and chip it, or slice it up with machete, every few months, and apply inga mulch around other plants. That is what they mean by alley cropping in that video. Keep in mind also that there are between 250 to 300 species of ingas, depending on what taxonomist you consult, so there is one that will fit most subtropical and tropical places. Some species also stay small. They all fix nitrogen, and all are edible. I have 1/2 a dozen species right now. This is a very valuable tree that has been super neglected, and could be used to great advantage, especially in areas with poor soils.
Hi Oscar,
:o Super fast and in super poor soils 8) That's extraordinary! If I was in the tropics and deciding to plant a mangosteen(or other garcinias) plantation, this plant will be chosen as a shade/alley trees...The fertility of the soil will much richer and the mangosteen will grow much faster with the extra nutrients available in the soil 8) I check out a website that had a book on Inga and more that 250 species are documented. I also check out some species like Ingá Açu(Assu)-Inga cinnamomea which take 1 years to produce after planting,Ingá-cipó-Inga edulis takes 2 years are planting, and Ingá peua-Inga quadrangularis takes 3 years to produce after planting.
I agree, Oscar...Since they are from Fabaceae family...they will all fix nitrogen in their roots 8) Super neglected is very true :'( They will rise again ;D I have also read a comment of person and quite frankly, he was really rude :o...citing the death to Ice cream bean for being an invassive plant in he's location >:(
If you don't mind me asking. What are those species of Inga you are growing?
One thing I have noticed with Inga edulis is that the best local ones with big (3 to 4 feet) sweet beans and a high flesh yield don't have black seeds.They are shades of maroon with some almost black.Extracted from a 3 feet bean at perfect ripeness these seeds were in various stages of sprouting.This type has seeds fully surrounded by thick flesh.
Hi Mike,
I found a similar Ice cream as the one you posted about. Maybe, you know this fruit loving Aussie? ;D
http://www.capetrib.com.au/icebean.htm (http://www.capetrib.com.au/icebean.htm)
Steven, i guess the book you are talking about is the Pennington monograph on Inga species? The species of Inga i have are feuillei, edulis, spectabilis, ciinnamomea, velutina, and a couple others i can't remember or look up right now.
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Steven, i guess the book you are talking about is the Pennington monograph on Inga species? The species of Inga i have are feuillei, edulis, spectabilis, ciinnamomea, velutina, and a couple others i can't remember or look up right now.
Hi Oscar,
Yes, it's the Pennington monograph. http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87 (http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87)
Impressive inga species you have, Oscar 8) I know them all except one, Inga velutina...will do some research :)
I even found a website...Inga Foundation 8) http://www.ingafoundation.org/ (http://www.ingafoundation.org/) I will devour this site tomorrow ;D
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Steven, i guess the book you are talking about is the Pennington monograph on Inga species? The species of Inga i have are feuillei, edulis, spectabilis, ciinnamomea, velutina, and a couple others i can't remember or look up right now.
Hi Oscar,
Yes, it's the Pennington monograph. http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87 (http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87)
Impressive inga species you have, Oscar 8) I know them all except one, Inga velutina...will do some research :)
I even found a website...Inga Foundation 8) http://www.ingafoundation.org/ (http://www.ingafoundation.org/) I will devour this site tomorrow ;D
The Pennington book is very good, but it's not for the layman. Also lacks color photos, only has B&W drawings. Still worth it for us inga fanatics. I've heard of inga foundation before...looks like a good project. Inga velutina has a velvety bronze fuzz on the beans and also on the leaves. Here is a photo:
http://crfg.org/photocon/2005-4b.html (http://crfg.org/photocon/2005-4b.html)
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Steven, i guess the book you are talking about is the Pennington monograph on Inga species? The species of Inga i have are feuillei, edulis, spectabilis, ciinnamomea, velutina, and a couple others i can't remember or look up right now.
Hi Oscar,
Yes, it's the Pennington monograph. http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87 (http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=87)
Impressive inga species you have, Oscar 8) I know them all except one, Inga velutina...will do some research :)
I even found a website...Inga Foundation 8) http://www.ingafoundation.org/ (http://www.ingafoundation.org/) I will devour this site tomorrow ;D
The Pennington book is very good, but it's not for the layman. Also lacks color photos, only has B&W drawings. Still worth it for us inga fanatics. I've heard of inga foundation before...looks like a good project. Inga velutina has a velvety bronze fuzz on the beans and also on the leaves. Here is a photo:
http://crfg.org/photocon/2005-4b.html (http://crfg.org/photocon/2005-4b.html)
Hi Oscar,
''Still worth it for us inga fanatics'' ;D
Thanks for sharing :) Inga velutina in the pic...looks freak'n awesome 8)
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Not sure if anybody id'd the last pic , I did not go trough all the replies , to me this looks like a Tabernaemontana , psychoactive additive to Ayahuasca . Also used in combination with Virola .
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At rustys' market there were ice crean beans -Inga edulis well over 5 ft and very thick but still young and firm and I got a 4ft 6 specimen.I noticed maroon seeds on an opened one and I was told they were from the same tree as the 3 ft 6 ones I got about a month ago.Unfortunately I left my one at work where it will stay for the weekend.
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At rustys' market there were ice crean beans -Inga edulis well over 5 ft and very thick but still young and firm and I got a 4ft 6 specimen.I noticed maroon seeds on an opened one and I was told they were from the same tree as the 3 ft 6 ones I got about a month ago.Unfortunately I left my one at work where it will stay for the weekend.
Never seen Inga edulis pods get nearly that long. Australia seems like the Texas of Oceania: everything is BIG! ;)
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Oscar I am used to them being about 3 ft long but these were pretty eye-popping.It sounds like it could be just a couple of trees that produce bigger thicker pods than most.
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Oscar I am used to them being about 3 ft long but these were pretty eye-popping.It sounds like it could be just a couple of trees that produce bigger thicker pods than most.
Oscar's beans look so much smaller. Could it be different species compared to "Australian" ones?
What's the average length at Oscar's garden?
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btw, how many Inga trees per hectare one might need to get that significant increase in yeld of other fruit trees (up to 34% as some say)
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There are quite a few sp of inga in Oz, but noone really knows or much cares which is which, juyst that some are bigger and better than otehrs. The one that grows wild here in SEQ is similar to Oscar's edulis, but is a little wider and slightly more gold. There are a few of the inga of a meter types and the long smooth bean types around, but not nearly as many as the wild edulis types. In Northern NSW this species is on the environmental weed list, and must be close here. The types in FNQ are the longer and usually better tasting varieities brought in by bawss collectors. Mike, I'll put my hand up for a seed of the 5ft giant to put in on the farm ;D.
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BMc my big fat one (4 ft 6) that was left at work over the weekend is gone perhaps purloined by cleaners.I am on a mission to get a 5 ft specimen now so just wait until after rusty's and I should have one.I better not shoot my mouth off until I have at least a 4 footer and hopefully 5ft + one in hand. A workmate who lives near me got some on Friday so I might grab one of theirs on the way home.
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(http://s18.postimage.org/8q40x7vgl/DSCF5098.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/8q40x7vgl/)
I got an inga of the good type from a friend this afternoon and it might not be 5 ft but it is the good type.Above are the seeds.
(http://s10.postimage.org/f3zpzxi7p/DSCF5097.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/f3zpzxi7p/)
It looks like this inside.
(http://s15.postimage.org/km2pl97pz/DSCF5094.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/km2pl97pz/)
(http://s12.postimage.org/mhtuude7t/DSCF5093.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/mhtuude7t/)
Next week I'll try get a whopper.
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(http://s10.postimage.org/5mmxwlfg5/DSCF5101.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/5mmxwlfg5/)
Here are a few more seeds out of the inga edulis showing many are germinating.
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Oscar I am used to them being about 3 ft long but these were pretty eye-popping.It sounds like it could be just a couple of trees that produce bigger thicker pods than most.
Oscar's beans look so much smaller. Could it be different species compared to "Australian" ones?
What's the average length at Oscar's garden?
I think both my photo and Mile's are of Inga edulis. The pod on my photo is from a tree at experimental station. On that tree you can see pods of all sizes, usually anywhere from one foot to about three feet long. Never seen any longer than about a yard on that tree.
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I am sure they are the same species but there is much variation.The pictures ones cost $2 per bean instead of the usual $1 per bean.That one is a little over the 4 ft mark but out of the same batch there were certainly much longer and heavier ones.Maybe they don't bring the smaller ones in to the market.The seeds are not black as the picture shows being a deep maroon with some orange/yellow ones which for me helps identify this type.
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(http://s15.postimage.org/d5oxdmvyv/DSCN1088.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/d5oxdmvyv/)
Street vendor in Bogota - Colombia .
Inga and Mamoncillo.
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(http://s7.postimage.org/mslwyrtbr/20121215_120836.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/mslwyrtbr/)
(http://s14.postimage.org/qux1q7xl9/20121215_120752.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/qux1q7xl9/)
Pics of my inga edulis