Inga Edulis - Ice Cream Bean

This week, the Inga started to bloom.

The Inga is native to the Amazon, and grows quite nicely in Florida. However, our sandy soil (combined with the Inga's shallow root system) causes lots of problems. These trees have suffered in almost every hurricane. In fact, the tree you are looking at has been cut to the roots several times after it has fallen in the 80+ mph winds of hurricane seasons.

The Inga makes pods, which inside, have green seeds covered with a white, fluffy pulp. (that's why some folks call Inga the cotton candy fruit).

The best and most in depth info on Inga, and on its utilization, can be found in two excellent books by T. D. Pennington: The Genus Inga - Botany ( ISBN 1 900347 12 1) and The Genius Inga - Utilization (ISBN 1 900347 58 X)