Spondias purpurea L. - Sinigwelas

Yummy sinigwelas.. also known as spanish plum. It was grown widely from Mexico to the northern region of South America when the Europeans arrived, as can be deduced from the descriptions of the first chroniclers ( Oviedo, Sahagún). It spread through the Antilles and the rest of South America and was possibly taken from Mexico to the Philippines. The fresh fruit has a very pleasant taste and its consumption is increasing. It is a valuable but economical raw material for the preparation of soft drinks, preserves and syrups and is also eaten as a dried fruit. The current marginalization and scarcity of commercial plantations are largely due to a lack of attention on the part of producers, technical experts and agricultural extension workers, who are concentrating their efforts on other fruit-trees in greater demand on the foreign market.