Edible Parts: Fruit  Leaves  Oil  Seed
Edible Uses: Coffee  Condiment  Drink  Oil

The young fruit is occasionally pickled[ 301 , 307 ]. Considered the equal of pickled walnuts[ 46 ]. The seed can be eaten when cooked[ 46 ]. It is also used to make a beverage[ 307 ]. A syrup and a popular confection called 'carabobo' is made from the seed[ 301 ]. To make the syrup, the seeds are ground finely, mixed with sugar and a little water then boiled[ 301 ]. The roasted seeds, combined with roasted wheat, are used as an aromatic and flavourful coffee substitute[ 301 ]. The leaves are sometimes cooked in soups[ 301 ].

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Abortifacient  Antidiarrhoeal  Astringent  Cholagogue  Diuretic  Dysentery  Emetic  Emmenagogue  
Emollient  Expectorant  Laxative  Odontalgic  Purgative  Vermifuge

The pulp (of the fruit?[ K ]) is astringent, emollient, expectorant and laxative[ 46 ]. It is used in domestic medicines[ 46 ]. The fruit is abortifacient, emetic, emmenagogue, purgative and vermifuge[ 348 ]. A syrup made from the pulp of the fruit is a popular remedy for colds[ 331 ]. The juice of the fruit is used to treat diarrhoea, pneumonia and intestinal irregularity. It is made into a strong tea and drunk to procure an abortion, to ease childbirth, and is used in a mix to relieve severe menstrual pains by eliminating blood clots[ 348 ]. A syrup made from the fruit is used to treat consumption[ 348 ]. The leaves are cholagogue, emetic (in larger doses), and purgative[ 348 ]. An infusion is sometimes administered for treating dysentery[ 331 ]. It is boiled with sugar, soft grease or Buckley's white rub to make a syrup that is used to treat colds[ 348 ]. Juice of young leaves is drunk to remedy colds and lung diseases[ 348 ]. The leaf is chewed to treat toothache[ 348 ] The leaves are used as a wash to cleanse dirty wounds[ 348 ]. The whole plant is used as a diuretic against hydropsy and diarrhoea[ 348 ]. The ripe fruit-pulp contains crescentic, tartaric, citric, tannic, chlorogenic and hydrocyanic acids, and may cause abortion in cattle[ 348 ]. The seed oil contains oleic acid[ 348 ]. The stem-bark and leaf show antimicrobial activity[ 348 ]

Containers  Fuel  Oil  Plant support  Wood

Specimen, Curiosity, Support for epiphytes, Botanic collection, Latge conservatory, Xerophytic. Other Uses The plant produces subglobose hard-shelled fruits about 15 - 30cm long[ 302 ]. Local people constrict the growth of these fruits by tying strings around them and, by so doing, fashion them into a variety of shapes. These can then be used as rattles, bowls, cups, containers etc, in much the same way as bottle gourds are used[ 302 , 331 ]. The most general use of the shells is for making drinking vessels, but the larger ones serve to store all sorts of articles[ 331 ]. Sections of the oblong forms are much used in place of spoons[ 331 ]. Many of the jicaras, as the cups made from the shells are called, are handsomely decorated in colours or by incised designs[ 331 ]. The hard, smooth shells polish well and are finely carved for ritual use in some parts of Africa[ 307 ]. The wood is light brown or yellowish brown, with fine veining of darker colour, without distinctive taste or odour; moderately hard and heavy, tough and strong, coarse-textured, fairly easy to work, takes a smooth finish; but is probably not durable[ 331 ]. It is used for ox yokes, tool handles, and vehicle parts[ 331 ] and is sometimes used in construction[ 302 ]. Thick crooked limbs often are used in Guatemala for making saddle trees[ 331 ]. The wood has been used from Colonial times to the present to make stirrups - some of those of the colonial period are beautifully carved and are real objects of art[ 331 ]. The wood is easy to carve when still green but when thoroughly seasoned is 'like iron' and some have perhaps been in use for 'hundreds' of years[ 331 ]. The wood is also used for fuel[ 307 ].

Special Uses

Attracts Wildlife  Carbon Farming  Food Forest