SPONDIAS PURPUREA: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, PLANTING, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2025

Spondias purpurea or jocote is a plant species belonging to the Anacardiaceae family. It is commonly known as jocote, plum, plum, bone plum, red plum, abal, San Juan plum, bighorn plum, among others.

It is a deciduous tree with an extended crown and short trunk, brittle branches, alternate pinnate leaves, flowers arranged in panicles and with yellow, red or purple drupe-like fruits. Its fruit can be consumed both raw and cooked, and when it is unripe it can be used for pickles.

Jocote or pitted plum. Source: Rodrigo.Argenton

It is a species native to Mesoamerica. It is located from Mexico to Peru and has been introduced in the tropical areas of Europe. Its cultivation is also very common in the United States.

This tree is not seriously affected by pests and diseases, but the fruit flies Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha ludens are considered dangerous because they cause serious damage to the fruits.

All parts of the jocote have medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal or antibacterial, among others. It has a light wood, and is used in the production of paper. Its somewhat acidic flavor makes it ideal for making ice cream and jams. It is a useful species in the restoration of forests that have been affected by mining.

characteristics

Fruits of Spondias purpurea. Source: Fábio Barros

Appearance

The jocote is a deciduous tree that measures between 3 and 8 m (some up to 15 m) and a diameter of approximately 80 cm. The crown of this species is widespread but the trunk is short. It has a superficial rooting.

The bark is rough, with a lot of ornamentation and a variable appearance, its color can be gray or greenish-brown, with some cracks and bumps with a corky texture that can be mistaken for thorns. The branches develop from 1 m in height, being thick, a little crooked and brittle.

According to data from families that grow jocote, five phenological phases are recognized: flowering, fruiting, fruit ripening, harvest, and the presence or absence of leaves.

Leaves

The leaves of this tree are alternate, pinnate, have a yellowish green color and measure between 10 and 20 cm in length. They are divided into more or less 15 elliptical leaflets that are up to 4 cm long and their edge is somewhat wavy.

Flower

The flowers develop in hairy panicles that have few small, pink or red flowers, which are about 0.6 cm in diameter.

The calyx of the flowers is very small and shows 5 petals and 5 lobes. Its flowers are hermaphroditic. Flowering occurs from February to May.

Fruit

The plum fruit is a red, yellow or purple drupe, ovoid in shape, which is 3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Its pulp is yellowish, very juicy and with a bittersweet flavor.

It has a bone 0.5 to 0.75 cm long, with a fibrous external appearance, and contains 1 to 5 seeds.

The fruiting period normally occurs from May to July, although in some places from March to May.

Seeds

The jocote seed is flat and measures about 12 mm in length. Its dispersal can occur through animals such as coyotes, deer, foxes, iguanas, among others.

Taxonomy

-Kingdom: Plantae

-Filo: Tracheophyta

-Class: Magnoliopsida

-Order: Sapindales

-Family: Anacardiaceae

-Gender: Spondias

-Species: Spondias purpurea L.

This species is also known as Spondias cirouella, Spondias crispula, Spondias jocote-amarillo, Spondias macrocarpa, Spondias mexicana, Spondias myrobalanus, Spondias purpurea var. munita or Warmingia pauciflora.

Habitat and distribution

This tree is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, and in both the humid and sub-humid tropics. It develops from sea level to 1200 m high.

In terms of its ecology, it is considered a secondary species, and is used to reforest degraded areas of forests, especially where there has been mining.

It can be seen in pine forests, oak forests, gallery forests, and evergreen, deciduous, and sub-deciduous forests. It is tolerant to drought and temporary floods.

The jocote is a deciduous tree. Source: pixabay.com

It is associated with the species Acacia sp., Swietenia sp., Manikara sp., Agave sp., Jacaratia sp., And Talisia sp.

Likewise, it is located in paddocks, home gardens, grasslands. It grows well in stony, alluvial, clayey soils and with limestone rock. It does not require a high rate of precipitation.

Sowing

Sowing can be done both sexually and asexually. Asexually it can be by means of cuttings or cuttings, and layering. Its spread is quite easy.

The stakes should be 1.30 to 2 m long and 6 to 10 cm wide; they are sown at a depth of 20 to 30 cm and inclined approximately 45 ° with respect to the substrate.

Propagation is recommended when most of the specimens are in bloom, since this action guarantees that the following year there will be fruit production.

Sexually, it reproduces through seedlings from seeds (although this route is not widely used). The seeds can germinate when covered with humus.

Harvest

To harvest them, three seasons are recognized: the first at the end of April to May (dry season), the second from June to July (beginning of the rainy season), and the third from the end of August to the beginning of October (rainy season).

Plants, although small in size, are considered to produce fruit. The cost of the fruit is lower in the towns where it is produced, but if the fruit is marketed by other people (intermediaries), the fruit can double in cost.

Care

Floor

Regarding the substrate or the soil, it should be noted that compacted and stony soils can be used.

On the contrary, the jocote is not very resistant to saline soils, and it is not recommended to plant them in places near coastal areas.

Pruning

The jocote can tolerate pruning or cutting very well. However, the producers consider that the jocote does not require great care, that is to say, that if desired it can be pruned or not, and that this does not cause the difference in production.

Light

This species requires good lighting to develop without problems.

Wind

This tree usually shows damage caused by the wind, so the position in which it is permanently placed must be taken into account.

Applications

It is used to reforest degraded areas in the jungle, such as trees on the edge of a living fence. Its main use is as a fruit tree for home gardens.

The resin of this species is used in Central America to make rubber and glues.

The fruits can be consumed raw, ripe, dehydrated, pickled or in brine. With the fruits, drinks and vinegar are also prepared. Jelly and jam are also prepared with them. If the fruits are immature, they are used to add them to the beans and prepare atoles, sauces and cakes.

The greatest use of jocote is for cultivation in home gardens. Source: Forest & Kim Starr

Prunes are marketed in different ways such as salted, unsalted, and sweet black plum. Another use of this plant is that the shoots and leaves serve as both raw and cooked vegetables.

On the other hand, the jocote is used to feed animals such as cattle and pigs. In this sense, the greatest amount of edible dry matter is formed in the 90 days following the initial pruning thanks to the tender sprouts.

Its wood is also useful for making paper, and it is considered light and soft for other uses. In addition, this species works as a melliferous plant, its ashes are useful in making soaps, and its trunk and branches serve as orchid guardians.

Medicinal properties

The parts such as bark, leaves, fruits, roots, resin, have medicinal properties. The leaves and the extract are used as febrifuges. In some countries, the infusion of its leaves is useful to disinfect wounds, treat inflammation and relieve burns.

The cooked bark is used to treat scab, dysentery, as well as to relieve flatulence in children.

On the other hand, the extract of the fruits are good to relieve inflammation, and the syrup of the fruit works to cure chronic diarrhea; and for jaundice, the resin mixed with soursop or pineapple juice is used.

The leaves are used to relieve gum infection, measles, and fever. While the root works to treat skin rashes, which also cause headaches and neck pain.

The root is also used to treat diseases of the bladder, intestine and scabies. For its part, the fruit is used for infections in the urine, as a diuretic and as an antispasmodic.

All the structures of the jocote have medicinal properties. Source: Photo by David J. Stang

Diseases

Pests and diseases are not of much threat to this tree species. These plants are resistant to the attack of pathogens in their woody and foliar part, but not in the fruit.

The fruits are attacked by pests such as the fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), especially in the rainy season. Another important pest is the Anastrepha ludens fly. Both species of flies produce worms that leave numerous holes in the fruit.

Likewise, some specimens are hosts of a mistletoe of the genus Psittacanthus sp., Which slowly dries the tree, as it parasitizes the branches and the tree eventually dies.

References

1. CONABIO. 2019. Spondias purpurea. Taken from: conabio.gob.mx
2. Ruenes, M., Montañez, P., Casas, A., Jiménez, J., Caballero, J. 2012. Cultivation of Spondias purpurea "abales" in family gardens in Yucatán. In: Home gardens in Mesoamerica. 85-106.
3. Catalog of Life: 2019 Annual Checklist. Species details: Spondias purpurea L. Taken from: catalogueoflife.org
4. Plants For A Future. 2019. Spondias purpurea L. Taken from: pfaf.org
5. Cuevas, JA, Agriculture in Mesoamerica. Jocote, plum (Spondias purpurea). Phytotechnics Department, Ethnobotanical Studies Unit, Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, Mexico. Taken from: fao.org