Rubiaceae
How to identify a genipap tree
Genipa americana · also called jagua (Spanish), huito (Peruvian Spanish)
A brown-skinned fruit with musky, sweet pulp used in juices and fermented drinks. Also the source of 'jagua,' an unripe-fruit juice that oxidizes to a blue-black body-paint dye traditionally used by Indigenous Amazonian communities, similar in use to henna.
Field marks
We have not written genus field marks for Genipa yet. Start with the leaf: note whether leaves are opposite or alternate, simple or compound, smooth-edged or toothed, and whether a torn leaf bleeds sap. Our tree identification by leaf guide walks through each feature.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If genipap is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Tropical Americas
- USDA zones
- 10b-11
- Climate
- Tropical lowland, tolerates seasonally wet soils.
- Fruiting season
- Season not documented; check local sources
- How often grown
- Rare in cultivation
A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Seedling ~5-7 yrs
- Propagation
- Seed.
Map your genipap trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides