Couma utilis
{{short description|Species of plant in the family Apocynaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Couma utilis.jpg
|image_caption = Botanical illustration
|genus = Couma
|species = utilis
|authority = (Mart.) Müll.Arg.{{cite journal |last1=von Martius |first1=C. F. P. |date=1860 |title=Couma utilis|url=http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=1950 |journal=Fl. bras. |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=19 |access-date=23 January 2020 }}
|synonyms =
- Collophora utilis Mart.
- Couma dulcis Spruce ex Müll.Arg.
- Couma multinervis Monach.
}}
Couma utilis, called the milk tree, sorvinha, sorveira, sorva (a name it shares with its larger relative Couma macrocarpa), and sorva-pequena, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, native to the Orinoco and Amazon basins of South America.{{cite book |date= 2013-09-21|title= Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology|page=168 |isbn=9780123969545 |last1= Grandtner|first1= M. M.|last2= Chevrette|first2= Julien|publisher= Academic Press}}{{cite book |last=Lorenzi |first=Harri |date=2003 |title=Brazilian Trees |volume=2 |publisher=Instituto Plantarum |page=42 |isbn=9788586714153 }} It is thought that C.{{nbsp}}utilis was on the verge of being domesticated by indigenous Amazonian peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans in the New World.{{cite book |title= Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization|page=119 |isbn=9781845931100 |last1= Akinnifesi|first1= Festus K.|year= 2008}}
Description
Couma utilis is usually a tree {{cvt|5|to|15|m|sigfig=1}} tall, and occasionally a bush reaching only {{cvt|2|m|ft|0}}. Its bark is smooth and dark brown. When cut it exudes large quantities of white latex. Its root system usually consists of a taproot reaching down {{cvt|1|to|2|m|ft|0}}, more in softer soils, and superficial roots that extend far beyond the dripline.{{cite book |title= Food and Fruit-bearing Forest Species: Examples from Latin America|location=Rome |publisher=FAO |pages=109–110 |isbn=9789251023723 |year= 1986}}
Its simple, entire leaves are oppositely arranged, with three leaves at branch termini. Leaf blades are elliptic, {{cvt|2|to|4|cm|sigfig=1}} wide and {{cvt|5|to|10|cm|sigfig=1}} long, with rounded to subobtuse apices. Leaf bases are cuneate and extend decurrently onto the petiole. They have no stipules, and their petioles are {{cvt|5|to|10|mm|sigfig=1}} long. The prominent leaf veins run parallel, and the leaves themselves are coriaceous and glabrous, colored dark green adaxially and light green abaxially.
C.{{nbsp}}utilis has corymbose, axillary inflorescences with 1 to 3 flowers that are {{cvt|2|to|4|cm|sigfig=1}} in total length. The cupped calyxes are about {{cvt|3|mm|sigfig=1|adj=on}} long with five obtuse {{cvt|2|mm|sigfig=1|adj=on}} long lobes. Corollas form tubes about {{cvt|8|mm|sigfig=1}} long, each with four or five {{cvt|5|mm|sigfig=1|adj=on}} long lobes. The flowers are pink to purple, with five stamens inserted into the tube. Ovaries have numerous ovules. Flowering season is April through June.
The fruits mature in August through September, with some coming out of season. The fruits are globose berries, {{cvt|1|to|4|cm|sigfig=1}} in diameter and averaging {{cvt|15.4|g}}. They hang in bunches of one to five from long peduncles. Unripe fruit are typically dark green turning brown and soft when ripe. They are often harvested unripe. Once fully ripe they are quite soft, with a leathery, {{cvt|1|mm|sigfig=1}} thick exocarp. There are numerous soft, flattened, {{cvt|3|to|4|mm|sigfig=1}} diameter seeds distributed evenly in the fleshy, sweet mesocarp.
Cultivation
C.{{nbsp}}utilis grows well in the nutrient poor oxisols of the Amazon rainforest, preferring wet but unflooded areas between sea level and {{cvt|500|m|ft}} elevation. It also grows in anthropogenically disturbed soils, unlike its wilder congeners C.{{nbsp}}macrocarpa and C.{{nbsp}}guianensis.{{cite book |title= The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts|page=73 |isbn=9780851996387 |last1= Janick|first1= Jules|last2= Paull|first2= Robert E.|year= 2008}} In cultivation in the central Amazon, a tree produces almost {{cvt|40|kg}} of fruit per year, a yield of about {{cvt|15|t/ha}}.{{cite journal |last1= Falcão|first1= Martha de Aguiar|last2= Clement|first2= Charles R.|last3= Gomes|first3= João Batista Moreira|title= Fenologia e produtividade da sorva (Couma utilis (Mart.) Muell. Arg.) na Amazônia Central|journal= Acta Botanica Brasilica|volume= 17|issue= 4|pages= 541–547|doi=10.1590/S0102-33062003000400007 |year= 2003|doi-access= free}}
Uses
As its specific epithet implies, Couma utilis has many uses. Its fruits are delectable and available in market towns such as Manaus and Belém. Sometimes the pulp is used as flavor for ice cream. Its latex has many uses, including as a base (commercially called pendare{{cite book |title= Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives|page=2109 |isbn=9780849394140 |last1= Burdock|first1= George A.|year= 1997|publisher=CRC Press }}) for chewing gum, for boat-caulking and for whitewashing houses. The raw latex is sweet and is used as a milk substitute by people in areas where dairy milk is not readily available.{{cite book |isbn=9783642733130 |title=Useful Plants of Neotropical Origin: And Their Wild Relatives |last1=Brücher |first1=Heinz |date=2012-12-06 |page=221 |publisher=Springer }} Its wood is occasionally used for construction and cabinetry. It is planted as an ornamental tree for its profusion of attractive pink to light purple flowers.{{cite book |isbn=9780855722050 |title=The Strangest Plants in the World |last1=Talalaj |first1=Stanislaw |last2=Talalaj |first2=Daniela |last3=Talalaj |first3=Janusz Joseph |year=1991 |page=156 |publisher=Hill of Content }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q15397649}}
Category:Flora of Southern America
Category:Trees of the Amazon rainforest