Anacardiaceae
How to identify a red mombin tree
Spondias purpurea · also called jocote (Central American Spanish), ciruela (Spanish)
A small, plum-like tart-sweet fruit eaten green with salt or fully ripe. Its ease of propagation from large cuttings makes it one of the fastest trees to establish on this list.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Spondias, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Leaves are pinnately compound with paired leaflets and one at the tip, and are often shed in the dry season.
- Fruit are plum-like drupes around a large, fibrous or hard stone. The genus is in the same family as mango.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If red mombin 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
- Mesoamerica
- USDA zones
- 10-11
- Climate
- Tropical, notably drought-tolerant, deciduous.
- Fruiting season
- July, August and September (typical, Northern Hemisphere)
- How often grown
- Uncommon in cultivation
Fruit is the most reliable way to confirm an identification, so July, August and September is the easiest window. Outside it, rely on the leaves and the overall habit. 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
- From large cuttings 2-3 yrs; seedling 3-5 yrs
- Propagation
- Large branch cuttings root readily and are the traditional method — famously planted directly as living fenceposts across Central America; also seed.
Relatives in the Anacardiaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
Map your red mombin 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