Fabaceae
How to identify an ice cream bean tree
Inga edulis · also called guama (Spanish)
Long, bean-like pods containing sweet, cottony white pulp — tasting like vanilla ice cream — around inedible seeds. Widely planted for shade and soil nitrogen-fixing in coffee and cacao agroforestry systems as much as for its fruit, often cropping twice a year.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Inga, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Leaves are pinnately compound, and the central stalk is winged between the pairs of leaflets.
- The fruit is a long, ridged green pod; the seeds inside are wrapped in sweet white pulp.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If ice cream bean 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
- Amazon basin / tropical South and Central America
- USDA zones
- 10b-11
- Climate
- Tropical — a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing agroforestry and shade tree as much as a fruit crop.
- Fruiting season
- Season not documented; check local sources
- How often grown
- Uncommon 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 3-4 yrs
- Propagation
- Seed.
Relatives in the Fabaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
Map your ice cream bean 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