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Lucuma bifera

Species of plant

Summary

Species of plant

Field	Value
name	Lucuma
water	64.8 - 72.3 %
kJ	414.5
protein	1.5 %
fat	0.5 %
carbs	1.5 %
fiber	1.3 %
calcium_mg	16
iron_mg	0.4
phosphorus_mg	26
potassium_mg	470
sodium_mg	6
vitC_mg	2.2
thiamin_mg	0.01
riboflavin_mg	0.14
niacin_mg	1.96
vitA_mg	2.3

Achras lucuma Ruiz & Pav.
Lucuma obovata Kunth
Lucuma obovata var. ruizii A.DC.
Lucuma biflora J.F.Gmel.
Lucuma obovata Kunth
Lucuma obovata var. ruizii A.DC.
Lucuma peruviana J.St.-Hil.
Lucuma turbinata Molina, tentatively listed as a synonym
Pouteria insignis Baehni
Pouteria lucuma (Ruiz & Pav.) Kuntze
Richardella lucuma (Ruiz & Pav.) Aubrév.

Lucuma bifera (synonym Pouteria lucuma) is a species of tree in the family Sapotaceae, cultivated for its fruit, the lúcuma. It is native to the Andean valleys of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile.

Description

This evergreen tree is up to 20 m tall, and has greyish-brown, fissured bark, which produces a milky white exudate. The end of branchlets and the petioles are covered with short, brown hairs. The leaves are simple, oblanceolate to elliptical, up to 25 cm long and 10 cm wide, and glabrous (or sometimes slightly hairy on the underside) grouped at the end of the branches. Flowers are solitary or in fascicles, small, axillary, with hairy sepals and a corolla forming a tube 1.0-1.8 cm long, greenish white, with five lobes, five stamens, five staminodes, a pubescent ovary, and a style 0.8-1.5 cm long. The fruit is globose, 6-12 cm long, glabrous, and russet to yellow when mature; the pulp is bright yellow; the one to several seeds are 1.8-3.5 cm long, dark brown, and glossy.[[File:Lúcuma.png|left|thumb|197x197px|Lucumas.]]

History

Representations of lúcuma have been found on ceramics at burial sites of the indigenous people of coastal Peru. The Moche people had a fascination with agriculture and often chose to represent fruits and vegetables, including lúcuma, in their art.

The fruit was first seen and reported by Europeans in Ecuador in 1531.

Distribution and habitat

The area of origin of L. bifera is located in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile, at temperate elevations of 2700-3000 m.

Cultivation

[[Moche culture]] pottery representing lucumas.]]In addition to Peru, the fruit is grown also to a limited extent in [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]] and [[Costa Rica]]. Attempts at growing lúcuma in Florida's climate are typically not successful.<ref name="morton" /> The fruit is successfully grown in [[Vietnam]], where it is known as lêkima.

In Peru, harvesting season is from October to March and in Chile from June to November.

Uses

When eaten raw, the very sweet fruit is bright yellow and has a mealy and dry texture. In Peru, it is more commonly used as a flavor in juice, milk shakes, and especially ice cream. Its flavor in such preparations has been described variously as being similar to sweet potato, maple syrup, or butterscotch. In Peru, manjar de lúcuma (dulce de leche with lúcuma purée) is a dessert. Multiple sources describe it as the most popular ice cream flavor in Peru and one of the most popular fresh fruits.

Nutrition

Lúcuma pulp has a 64-72% moisture content. The pulp also contains glucose, fructose, sucrose, inositol, citric acid, and succinic acid.

References

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. 2019. ''Pouteria lucuma''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T145585581A145653903. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T145585581A145653903.en. Accessed 14 April 2025.
"''Lucuma bifera'' Molina". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].
"CAPÍTULO I: LA LÚCUMA (in Spanish)". University of Piura, Peru.
Morton JF. (1987). "Lucmo". Purdue University, republished from p. 405–406. In: Fruits of Warm Climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.
Pennington, T. D.. (1990). "Flora Neotropica Monograph Sapotaceae". New York Botanical Garden.
(2015). "Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World". CABI.
Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the [[Larco Museum. Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera]].'' New York: [[Thames and Hudson]], 1997.
''Lesser-known and under-utilised plant resources'' Ameenah Gurib-Fakim - 2005 - Page 59
"Lucuma".
(2008). "The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts". CABI.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

lucuma crops-originating-from-ecuador crops-originating-from-peru crops-originating-from-chile peruvian-cuisine trees-of-peru trees-of-ecuador flora-of-bolivia flora-of-colombia flora-of-northern-chile edible-fruits fruits-originating-in-south-america plants-described-in-1782 taxa-named-by-juan-ignacio-molina taxobox-binomials-not-recognized-by-iucn

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