Chrysobalanus icaco
L.
Common Name: COCO PLUM, ICACO
Occasional evergreen shrub (2-3 m) that occupies the vegetated
coastal margin of sandy beaches. Icaco is one of the most hardy
and salt resistant plants of the area and it has the further asset
of providing edible and good-tasting, rose-colored fruits and
seeds.
Description: Icaco is a low, beachside
shrub made up of a thick network of stiff twigs and branches that
emerge from a small (10 cm in diameter) and rather twisted, brown-barked
bole. 
Rather
than growing vertically and gaining height, Icaco's trunk tends
to meander nearly horizontally above the beach, increasing the
width of the tree more than its height. With a generous foliage
cover, this shrub presents a dense, wiry, and impenetrable crown.
Leaves (7 cm by 6 cm) are simple, alternate, smooth and
waxy. They are arranged in two tiers along either side of the
twigs. Nearly round (truly orbicular) in shape, the blades are
only slightly narrower (attenuate) near their proximal end, where
they attach to the short, 3 mm petioles. Leaf venation is pinnate
and the yellow color of the main veins contrasts markedly with
the green of the rest of the lamina. Drip tips are entirely lacking.
Flowers grow from small terminal and subterminal panicles.
Each small (8 mm) blossom consists of five pale green sepals,
no petals, and a ring-like cluster of about 20 white stamens.
Flowers are in evidence sporadically throughout the year, but
activity is most intense from March through May. Fruits
inflate quickly thereafter, becoming ripe within about two months.
When mature, they are 4 cm globes, colored with an attractive
white and rose or pinkish mottling. The pulp is soft and spongy
- having the consistency (and the size - if not the flavor) of
a marshmallow. A single, round seed (1 cm) is found inside each
fruit. Harvests are heaviest during the months from May through
August.
Similar Species: Icaco is an
easy species to identify. Few other plants share its nearly round
- orbicular - foliage - particularly among those found along the
shoreline.
Natural History: Chrysobalanus
icaco has an interesting and unusual geographic distribution:
it is considered to be native to both tropical Africa and America.
At the species level, such intercontinental ranges are rare and
it is puzzling to understand how they could come about. Plate
tectonics and continental drift fail to provide an answer since
these two land masses separated some 120 million years ago - long
before this species, or many other angiosperms, evolved. Surprisingly,
another Chrysobalanaceae - Parinari excelsa - a tall tree
known from the Osa Peninsula, has a similar tropical American
and African distribution (Mabberley, 1978).
Uses: Icaco fruits and seeds
are edible and they have a mild, pleasantly sweet flavor. The
tree has been cultivated for this reason (Mabberley, 1978). The
seeds also are rich in oils were used in the Caribbean for illumination.
Finally, a black dye has been obtained from the fruits as well
as the leaves (Zamora, 1989).
Distribution: Icaco is found
growing within the vegetated fringe of the sandy beaches. Icaco
is distributed all along both of Costa Rica's coasts. In America,
it ranges from Mexico and the Antilles, south to southern Brazil.
In west Africa, it extends from Guinea to Angola.
Flower Flower
Rather
than growing vertically and gaining height, Icaco's trunk tends
to meander nearly horizontally above the beach, increasing the
width of the tree more than its height. With a generous foliage
cover, this shrub presents a dense, wiry, and impenetrable crown.
Leaves (7 cm by 6 cm) are simple, alternate, smooth and
waxy. They are arranged in two tiers along either side of the
twigs. Nearly round (truly orbicular) in shape, the blades are
only slightly narrower (attenuate) near their proximal end, where
they attach to the short, 3 mm petioles. Leaf venation is pinnate
and the yellow color of the main veins contrasts markedly with
the green of the rest of the lamina. Drip tips are entirely lacking.
Flowers grow from small terminal and subterminal panicles.
Each small (8 mm) blossom consists of five pale green sepals,
no petals, and a ring-like cluster of about 20 white stamens.
Flowers are in evidence sporadically throughout the year, but
activity is most intense from March through May. Fruits
inflate quickly thereafter, becoming ripe within about two months.
When mature, they are 4 cm globes, colored with an attractive
white and rose or pinkish mottling. The pulp is soft and spongy
- having the consistency (and the size - if not the flavor) of
a marshmallow. A single, round seed (1 cm) is found inside each
fruit. Harvests are heaviest during the months from May through
August.
