Hog Plum -A wonderful harvest feast table and a mighty pharmacy-

Other names: Golden Apple, Java Plum, Yellow Mombin, Spanish Plum

Botanical name: Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae)

SOULFUL STRONG TROPICAL FRUIT TREE

Hog plum is native to South and Central America. Growing approximately one meter a year, a fully grown tree can be hundreds of years old. The tree can grow up to 35 m (115 ft) high and achieve an 80 cm (2.6 inch) trunk diameter. The leafy branches grow nice and wide. The wood is light cream-colored, a bit shiny and is used to make furniture and canoes. The cork-like bark has been utilized to make ornaments and religious sculptures.

THE SCENTED FLOWERS AND THE FRUITS LOVED BY ALL

Hog plum blooms from December to June with tiny, fragrant, white flower clusters and bears fruit until October. The orange, grape-resembling fruits are a delightfully tasty experience. One of the tree’s Spanish names, Ciruela Amarilla, means yellow plum. The pleasant smell attracts iguanas, monkeys and other little animals. The fruits can be eaten straight from the tree or when they have fallen from the tree. The fruit can also be cooked or dried or even made into refreshing drinks, liqueur and ice cream. Raw fruits are conserved in vinegar and eaten with salt in the same way as olives! Hog plum fruits contain vitamin A, B1 and C.

TREE HEALS IN MANY WAYS

Hog plum has plenty of pharmaceutical gifts for nature’s pharmacy. Almost every part of the tree has an important use in traditional medicine. The leaves, the flowers, the bark and the roots all contain medicinal ingredients bringing relief from various health problems. Hog plum has been a part of the Indians medicine cabinet from the ancient times. The effect is powerful and so the measurement requires accuracy. For example, a person allergic to aspirin can’t take medicines made of Hog plum. Furthermore, pregnant women or a woman planning pregnancy should not use Hog plum, as the tree has pregnancy-preventing and labour-inducing features.

Tea made from the leaves has sedative, cough and pain-relieving effects. Leaf tea improves digestion and cures stomach-aches. The leaves and the roots are also used to make medicine to heal wounds, reduce fever and cure the common cold. The decoction made from the bark is used to relieve muscular pain and to treat skin diseases.