From the book
Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia F. Morton
Madroño
R. madruno Planch. & Triana
GUTTIFERAE
Excerpt from "Bakupari, Rheedia brasiliensis Planch. & Triana." Related Species.
The madrono, R. madruno
Planch. & Triana, may be called machari or fruta de mono in Panama;
cerillo in Costa Rica; cozoiba in Venezuela; kamururu in Bolivia.
The
tree is erect, lush, compact, with pyramidal or nearly round crown, 20
to 65 ft (6-20 in) high, and has much gummy yellow latex. The opposite
leaves are elliptic to oblong, wedge-shaped at the base, rounded or
pointed at the apex, 2 3/8 to 8 in (6-20 cm) long, 3/4 to 3 in (2-7.5
cm) wide; dark green above, paler beneath, with numerous veins
conspicuous on both surfaces and merging into a thick marginal vein.
The fragrant male and female flowers are borne on separate trees in
clusters of up to 14 in the leaf axils; have 4 reflexed, pale-yellow
petals; the male, 25 to 30 light-yellow stamens. The fruit is round or
ellipsoidal, sometimes with a prominent nipple at each end; 2 to 3 in
(5-7.5 cm) long, with thick, leathery, warty, greenish-yellow rind
containing a deep-yellow, resinous latex. The white, translucent,
juicy, sweet-acid, aromatic pulp adheres tightly to the 1 to 3 ovate or
oblong seeds which are about 3/4 in (2 cm) long.
The tree is
native to the Golfo Dulce region of Costa Rica, the Atlantic slope of
Panama, and northern South America–Colombia and Ecuador through
Venezuela to Guyana and Bolivia. It is particularly common in the Cauca
Valley of Colombia where the fruits are marketed in quantity. It is
limited to elevations below 4,000 ft (1,200 in). Dr. Wilson Popenoe
collected seeds for the United States Department of Agriculture near
Palmira, Colombia, in 1921 (S.P.I. #52301). The tree was introduced
into Puerto Rico in 1923 and into the Philippines at about the same
time. A few old trees have been fruiting more or less in southern
Florida for many years, in midsummer. In Costa Rica, flowers are borne
from December to February and fruits from May to August.
The
yellow latex of the tree is used in Panama to treat ulcers and other
sores. The wood is pinkish and hard but not commonly used.
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