mystery funky fruit from the Amazon
I recently received seeds of a strange funky fruit from a friend in the Amazon. We have no idea what it is, and Jim West can't tell from the photos that my friend sent to him either. There was a delay in getting the seeds here, but I stuck them in some soil two days ago, and they are already starting to sprout, so they seem like survivors!
It's a medium-small tree that fruits in February/March at ~800m elevation in SE Ecuador. If anyone knows what it is, please don't hesitate to comment.
Looks like Huito (Jagua) fruit
Similar, but the fruit is green when ripe, and the pulp is always that bright orange colour, and Genipa americana wouldn't be growing wild where my friend lives, and even if it were, it would be a big tree.
Huh! How odd
That was my guess too, called jenipapo where I'm from. So perhaps something in a nearby clade.
Looks a bit like mangosteen. But mangosteen is black with white fruit.
Something in the same family?
Possible, but Garcinia fruits usually have distinct segments, which this doesn't. I'm not familiar with other Clusiaceae, but I doubt that they would have the funk. Someone in the other thread suggested that it could be a Leonia species, which seems likely. I'm not so sure which one though.
https://identify.plantnet.org/fr/k-central-america/species/Posoqueria%20latifolia%20(Rudge)%20Schult./data
Could it be this: Posoqueria Latifolia
That's an interesting plant, so thanks for sharing. The descriptions and photos don't quite match though. I suspect that it's most likely a Leonia species, but I don't yet know which one.
Photos of the tree itself and its leaves:
Did you dare to eat it? If so what does it taste like?
I just planted the seeds in nursery soil a few days ago. It will be years before I taste the fruit.
Oh then good luck and I'm looking forward to see them in a couple of years :-)
Unripe passion fruit? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_fruit_(fruit)
Definitely not a Passiflora; this grows on a tree, and the seeds are too large, and the fruit in the photo is ripe.