Photo by Barry Rice, Sarracenia.com.
The exposed caudex by Conabio-pj010, Inaturalist.org.
A small, flowering plant by RaulBaG, Inaturalist.org
The fruits by Patriciasamperio,
Inaturalist.org. |
| Author: |
Paul Carpenter Standley, 1937 | |
Family: |
CARICACEAE |
| Origin: |
El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico |
| Soil: |
Mix |
| Water: |
Medium |
| Sun: |
Maximum |
| Thickness: |
5 Centimetres |
| Height: |
100 Centimetres |
| Flower: |
White |
| Propagate: |
Seeds |
| Names: |
- |
| Synonyms: |
- |
This member of the Caricaceae family
was given this name by Paul Carpenter Standley in 1937. It is found in
the hills of El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, growing in a well drained soil with
some water and lots of sun. The caudex can grow to
five centimetres in diameter, the entire plant
to 100 centimetres in height. The flowers are white. The genera is dioecious:
Male or female plants.
The fruit is cool,
tart, refreshing and "remotely suggestive of lemons", much liked by
locals. The tuber is "good to eat roasted" and important as a wild food
"carrying them over the hunger period before the corn harvest".
The genera name
after the Spanish name for the plants; jarrilla. This describes
the peculiar shape of the fruit, like the classic hispanic clay jarro.
The species name for the fruit is called Chócola and the plant
called Kapiáh by the Waríhio native Mexicans of Chihuahua and Sonora. |
