Description
Ⅰce cream bean is a fast-growing, multiple-purpose tree originating in Central and South America, its native range extending from Mexico to Ecuador.
It reaches heights of up to 20 m (65 ft) in its natural habitat, with a trunk diameter approaching 50 cm (1.6 ft), though it is more commonly 10 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) tall. The branches start low on the trunk and spread out wide, forming a densely branched, umbrella-shaped crown.
The leaves are large and feathery, being made-up of six to eight, elongated-oval leaflets, each about 10 cm (4 in) long, dark glossy green and arranged in pairs along the length. They remain on the tree in areas where the dry season is sort but fall where the dry season is pronounced to conserve water.
The flowers have a powder-puff shape with long white filaments and are perfect, with both female and male parts. They bloom at their fullest in spring, with light on-and-off blooms the rest of the year and are followed by large, green seedpods up to 20 cm (8 in) long, becoming green-brown to pale brown when mature, around three months after fruit-set.
Use
The mature seedpods are prised open along their length to access to the edible pulp, which is a sweet white, cotton-wool-like mass that some have described as having the flavour of vanilla ice-cream. It is eaten fresh out-of-hand after removing and discarding the largish seed, which number up to eighteen in each seedpod.
It is sometimes cultivated as a street or ornamental tree for its shapely form and showy foliage, or as shade tree for shade-loving crops such as coffee (Coffea arabica), on account of its fast growth and ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. These attributes also make it a good candidate for land reclamation and soil improvement projects.
The flowers are visited by honeybees and it is reported as a possible nectar source for honey production but there is too little information to confirm it as a honey plant.
The roundwood is suitable for firewood, though is not much used for this purpose in its native range.
Climate
Grows naturally in sub-humid to humid subtropical and tropical lowland to mid-elevation climates, generally areas with annual lows of 14 to 22°C, annual highs of 23 to 32°C, annual rainfall of 800 to 4500 mm and a dry season of 6 months or less. In Costa Rica, it grows naturally in humid tropical rainforest above 100 meters elevation.
Growing
New plants are usually grown from seed which lose their viability quickly and should be sown soon after being extracted from the seedpod.
It tolerates a wide variety of soil types and textures, including clay, loam, sand and limestone that have a moderately acid to alkaline nature, generally in the pH 5.0 to 8.0 range, but is intolerant of waterlogging, requiring free-drainage for good growth and development.
Problem features
There does not appear to be any records of escape and naturalisation anywhere, despite it being widely cultivated outside its native range.
The brittle branches are prone to break off in strong winds, with the potential to cause personal injury or damage to property.
Where it grows
References
Books
-
Barwick, M., et al. 2004, Tropical & subtropical trees : a worldwide encyclopaedic guide, Thames and Hudson, London
-
González-Espinosa 2012, The red list of Mexican cloud forest trees, Fauna & flora International, Cambridge, U.K
-
Norrington, L. & Campbell, C. 2001, Tropical food gardens : a guide to growing fruit, herbs and vegetables in tropical and sub-tropical climates, Bloomings Books, Hawthorn, Victoria
-
Randall, R. P. 2002, A global compendium of weeds, R.G. and F.J. Richardson Press, Melbourne
-
Vázquez, Y. C. 1999, Potentially valuable Mexican trees for ecological restoration and reforestation, Institute of Ecology, Database SNIB-REMIB-CONABIO, Project J084, Mexico
-
Vozzo, J. A 2002, Tropical tree seed manual, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Washington D.C.
Articles, Journals, Reports and Working Papers
-
Nair, P. K. R., Fernandes, E. C. M., & Wambugu, P. N. (1985). Multipurpose leguminous trees and shrubs for agroforestry. Agroforestry systems, 2(3), 145-163.