Ximenia americana L.

Small tree or shrub up to 7 m. high, usually armed with axillary spines; bark greyish-brown to black; young stems never tomentose.. Petiole up to 6 mm. long, canaliculate, usually pubescent on the inner surface; leaf-blade coriaceous, glabrous, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, 3–8 cm. long, 1.5–4 cm. wide, apex obtuse to emarginate, base usually cuneate; midrib prominent beneath, impressed above; lateral veins 3–7 pairs, inconspicuous.. Inflorescence a shortly pedunculate raceme or umbel.. Flowers white to greenish, fragrant; pedicels 3–7 mm. long, subequal to or shorter than the newly opened flowers; both peduncles and pedicels glabrous.. Calyx small, with 4(–5) deltoid lobes, slightly ciliate at the margin.. Petals 4(–5), 5–10 mm. long, 1–2.5 mm. wide, densely pilose on their inner surface, apiculate, recurved when mature.. Stamens 8; filaments 2–4 mm. long; anthers 2–4 mm. long and up to 0.8 mm. wide.. Ovary superior, 3–4-partite almost to its apex; style up to 3 mm. long.. Fruit a globose to ellipsoidal drupe, 2–2.5 cm. in diameter, glabrous, yellow (or rarely orange-red) at maturity; mesocarp pulpy.. Seed woody, up to 1.5 cm. long and 1.2 cm. wide.. Fig. 2/1–5.

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. They occur along the back of coasts and seashores from Luzon to Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. It occurs in the vegetation near the coastline. The plant occurs in all tropical countries. It is found in savannah in Africa. It is drought resistant. In China it grows in sandy areas behind beaches along the sea shore and mostly below 100 m in S China. In Bolivia it grows up to 900 m altitude. In Kenya it grows between 1,700-1,800 m altitude. In Ethiopia it grows between 500-2,450 m above sea level. It grows in the Sahel. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 100-1,270 mm. It can grow in arid places.

The ripe fruit are eaten raw or pickled. They are used for jam and jellies. They can be dried. They are also used to make beer. The seeds or nuts are powdered and mixed with sago to make bread. Oil is also extracted from the seeds. The kernels of the nuts are recorded as both edible and purgative. They should only be eaten in small numbers. CAUTION The leaves have been reported as poisonous. They contain a cyanogenic glycoside. Young leaves are eaten after cooking.

Plants normally grow wild. The plant often has roots which feed off other plants. Plants can be grown from seed. These can be grown in pots then transplanted or can be sown where they are to grow. As seed do not store well, they should be sown fresh.