Accession Data

Inga edulis

Common Name: Ice Cream Bean

Family: Fabaceae

Country of Origin: central and south America

Description: Mature trees of Inga edulis reach 30 m (98 ft) high and 60 cm (2.0 ft) diameter at breast height, usually branching from below 3 m (9.8 ft). The branches form a broad, flat, moderately dense canopy. The pods contain black seeds which are embedded in a thick white juicy pulp that tastes slightly like vanilla ice cream.4

The leaflets possess cup-like extra-floral nectaries that encourage mutualistic ant colonies which defend the plant from predation.

Accession Data

USDA Zone: 9b-11

Accession #: 198500714

Accession Date: 1985-12-31 00:00:00

Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering

Location: 1310

Quantity: 2

Source: Unknown

Culture: Propagation Notes: Reduce surface area of compound leaves, apply indolebutyric acid (IBA) Hormodin 2/3, then place under mist. 6

Classification

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: eurosid I

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae

SubFamily: Mimosoideae

Tribe: Ingeae

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

References

  1. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
  2. Inga edulis at ARS-GRIN. Last accessed on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
  3. The Double-Crossing Ants to Whom Friendship Means Nothing at Deep Look (YouTube Channel). Last accessed on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
  4. Inga edulis at Wikipedia. Last accessed on Wednesday, July 19, 2017.
  5. Image #00 (cropped) and #01 (original) by Haplochromis (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Last accessed on Wednesday, July 19, 2017.
  6. Brennan, E.B. & Mudge, K.W. Vegetative propagation of Inga feuillei from shoot cuttings and air layering, New Forests (1998) 15: 37. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006594207046. Last accessed on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

Images

Inga edulis
Inga edulis