Herrania purpurea (Pittier) R.E.Schult.

Shrub or small tree, up to 10 m. high, the bark grayish and glabrous; young branches ferruginous-tomentellous. Leaves 5-foliolate, the petiole strong, terete, striate, somewhat swollen at the base, 18-42 cm. long, tomentellous to densely puberulous, the stipules linear, acute, up to 5 cm. long and 0.3 cm. wide, puberulous and caducous; leaflets subsessile, obovate to obovate-oblong, cuneate at the base, obtusely long-acuminate and mucronulate at the apex, 12-42 cm. long and 3-13 cm. wide, thin-chartaceous, the margin entire to obscurely sinuatc, glabrous above except along the nerves, sparsely puberulous beneath, the nerves prominent on both sides but especially beneath. Inflorescences cauliflorous on the lower part of the trunk, 5-to 8-flowered. Flowers shortly pedicellate, the pedicel terete, articulate, ca. 4 mm. long, ferruginous-tomentose, the bracts small, naviculiform, ferruginous-tomentose outside and glabrous inside; calyx patelliform, deeply divided into 3, rarely 4 lobes, the lobes unequal, broadly ovate, rather obtuse at the apex, densely ferruginous-puberulous to tomentose outside, sparsely villous inside; petals 5, obovate, up to 8 mm. long (without appendage) and 4-5 mm. wide, fleshly, pur-plish, loosely papillate, the pendulous appendage ca. 15 mm. long and 2 mm. wide; stamens 15, the staminal tube ca. 2.5-3 mm. long, the filaments in 5 groups of 3, in each group 1 free and 2 connate filaments ca. 2 mm. long; anthers ca. 1 mm. long; staminodes obovate, rounded to acute at the apex, 9-11 mm. long and 8 mm. wide, papillate on both sides; ovary ovoid, slightly l0-sUlcate, 2-2.5 mm. long and 2 mm. broad, villous; style short, ca. 1.5 mm. long, glabrous; stigma villous. Fruit ellipsoid, oblong-ellipsoid or slightly oblong-obovoid, somewhat apiculate at the apex, 6-10 cm. long and 2.5-4 cm. broad, yellow, very sparsely hispid to gla-brescent and with stinging hairs outside; seeds obtusely rhomboid, ca. 1-1.3 cm. long, 0.7-1 cm. wide and 0.5-0.6 cm. long.

Usually found at elevations below 60 metres, often growing by rivers on land that becomes inundated with more than 1 metre of water in the rainy season.

The white aril or layer around the seeds is eaten.

Plants can be grown from seeds.