Mammea americana
Mammea americana (lat. Mammea americana) is a fruit tree, also called Antillean or American apricot.
Description
Mammea americana is an evergreen tree whose height varies from eighteen to twenty-one meters. The wood of this plant is very heavy and hard. And the glossy elliptical leaves of this culture are usually leathery and colored in dark green tones. The width of the leaves is on average ten centimeters, and the length is twenty.
The white, fragrant flowers are endowed with orange pistils and stamens, as well as four to six petals.
The diameter of the round fruits of Mammea americana reaches from ten to twenty centimeters. The orange pulp of the fruit, characterized by pronounced sourness, tastes like apricot or mango. The weight of each fruit usually does not exceed one and a half kilograms, and the thickness of the soft, pale brown, bitter skin of the fruit reaches about 3 mm. Unripe fruits usually have very tight skin. And right under the skin there are white, dry and thin shells, tightly covering the juicy pulp of orange shades. Inside each fruit you can find four brownish, round, woody seeds, the diameter of which often reaches seven centimeters.
Where does it grow
The birthplace of this culture is tropical America. In addition, Mammea americana is cultivated in the Antilles, Northern Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Ecuador, USA and Colombia. This unusual plant can also be found in the countries of tropical Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America. Mammea americana loves high humidity and tropical climates.
Usage
The edible pulp of the fruit is used fresh as one of the ingredients for cakes and pies. A wide variety of canned goods such as marmalade and marshmallows are also made from it. Fruit juice is often fermented into a fairly rich wine, and the unripe fruit makes a wonderful jelly. By the way, the pulp of the fruit can be safely boiled and subsequently added to various desserts. Mammaya is also good in canned form.
Mammea americana seeds are characterized by excellent insecticidal properties. Quite often they are used to heal parasitic skin diseases.
Systematic consumption of these fruits helps to significantly increase the body”s defenses and thoroughly strengthen the immune system. And since these fruits are considered low-calorie, they can be consumed by both obese people and those who follow a strict diet.
The fruits of Mammea americana contain folic acid, which is very important for women, especially for expectant mothers. These tropical fruits also contain a lot of potassium, which has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system and takes an active part in metabolism. Regular consumption of mammea helps reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
Contraindications
Mammea americana is not without contraindications. True, there is only one thing — this fruit is not recommended for people with individual intolerance.
Before you start enjoying the juicy fruits, you need to remove the skin and white shell from them, and also remove the seeds from the fruit — in addition to the fact that they are very bitter, they are also poisonous.
It is also advisable to control the total amount of fruit eaten — if you abuse them, you can get poisoning or an upset stomach.
