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Parmentiera edulis
We came upon this tree in a field which was dropping enormous green flowers. I have never seen green flowers before. The fruit is a long wrinkled pod hanging in the branches and several were also on the ground. The last picture shows the entire tree. Family Bignomiaceae.
Cleared field along the highway. Kilometro 10, Carretera Veracruz-Cordoba after the junction from Minatitlán.
See the strange parasitic plant that was growing in this tree: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/174... This tree is called "Cuajilote" in Mexico and has been used extensively in Traditional medicine by the Aztecs and Maya for centuries. Parts of the fruit, flowers, bark and roots are used to make a tea for the treatment of kidney problems and kidney stones. The fruit is edible and rich in iron and vitamin A and supposedly tastes a little like green mango. http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/vfh/imag... http://www.tlahui.com/medic/medic21/cuaj...
Spotted on Apr 13, 2015
Submitted on Jul 17, 2015
4 Comments
All good Lauren. I imagined the fruit being a little tart and if it's anything like a green mango, it must be sour.
Wonderful Leuba! Thank you. There is even a picture above on the ground of the very same fruit stem in your reference. Turns out to be a really interesting tree that has been used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of renal problems.
Parmentiera edulis or Parmentiera species I think. Have a look at this
http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/vfh/imag...
Flower looks very like family Bignoniaceae
Very interesting Lauren. Hope we get to find out what it is - amazing green flowers.