inga edulis

• miracle
• products
• fruit
• legume
• canopy layer
• shader
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• type: fast growing nitrogen-fixing tropical tree
• properties

  • root: deep taproot with extensive lateral roots and nitrogen-fixing nodules

  • stem: upright, branching, semi-softwood when young, becoming sturdy with age

  • leaf: alternate, pinnately compound with 4–6 pairs of leaflets, elliptical with pointed tips

    • Leaf Length: 20–35 cm (compound leaf)

  • flower: cream-white, fuzzy, brush-like, fragrant, clustered in axillary inflorescences

  • fruit: long, cylindrical pods (30–100 cm) with pulpy edible white aril surrounding seeds

  • bark: thin, light gray-brown, slightly fissured on mature trees

  • timber: light, low-density, used for firewood and local construction

  • Environment: thrives in humid tropical climates with rich soils, moderate shade tolerance, and year-round rainfall

    • Climate: humid lowland tropics, tolerates periodic drought and temporary flooding
      • Sun: 600–900 W/m²
      • No Sun Days: 10–15 days
      • Water: 1500–3500 mm/year
      • No Water Days: 20–30 days
      • Humidity: 70–95 %
      • Fog Resistance: 10–15 days
      • Max Temp: 40 °C
      • Optimal Temp: 22–30 °C
      • Min Temp: 5 °C
      • Wind Damage: cold-dry, strong-salty
    • Soil: well-drained fertile soils with good organic matter, tolerates moderate acidity and temporary flooding
      • Soil Ph: 5.0–6.8
      • soi-type::loamy , clay-loam, alluvial
    • Spacing: 5–10 m depending on use (orchard vs. agroforestry canopy)
      • Good Neighbors: cacao, banana, cassava, piper, ananas
      • Bad Neighbors: eucalyptus, casuarina
      • Max Height: 15 m
      • Max Spread: 12 m

  • lifecycle

    • Longevity: 30–40 years
    • Germination: seeds germinate rapidly in 3–10 days, do not store well (recalcitrant)
    • Seedling: fast growing, reaches 1–2 meters in the first year under moist conditions
    • Mature: begins fruiting in 3–5 years, continues annually with high productivity under good care
    • Death: declines with water stress or fungal root issues, usually managed as part of successional systems

  • features: nitrogen-fixers, edible fruit, shade tree, pollinator-friendly, soil improver

  • layer: canopy, sub-canopy, successional

  • products: fresh fruit pulp, seed flour, shade mulch, firewood, green-manure, fodder, pollinator nectar

  • chemical compounds

  • compounds in fruit

    compound	amount per 100 g
    [[vitamin c	ascorbic acid]]
    thiamine	-
    riboflavin	-
    linoleic acid	-
    oleic acid	-
    arginine	-
    lysine	-
    glutamic acid	-
    glucose	-
    fructose	-
    sucrose	-
    total sugars	~25 g
    total phenolics (gallic acid eq.)	3.86–33.4 mg GAE
    total flavonoids (quercetin eq.)	1.75–19.4 mg QE
    tannins	-
    citric acid	~10.4 mg/g
    protein (pulp)	1.0 g
    protein (seed)	10.7 g
    lipids (pulp)	0.1 g
    lipids (seed)	0.7 g
    carbohydrates (pulp)	15.5 g
    carbohydrates (seed)	24.0 g
    [[dietary fiber	dietary fiber (pulp)]]
    [[dietary fiber	dietary fiber (seed)]]

    ---

  • compounds in seed

    compound	amount per 100 g
    linoleic acid	-
    oleic acid	-
    palmitic acid	-
    stearic acid	-
    α-linolenic acid	-
    γ-linolenic acid	-
    eicosapentaenoic acid	-
    tocopherols (β‑tocopherol, δ‑tocopherol)	-
    p‑hydroxybenzoic acid	-
    4‑methoxybenzoic acid	-
    p‑methoxycinnamic acid	-
    ferulic acid	-
    caffeic acid	-
    anthocyanins	-
    [[proteins	protein]]
    [[carbs	carbohydrates]]

  • plant part	compound	amount per 100 g
    leaves	epicatechin	–
    leaves	apigenin c-di-hexoside	–
    leaves	myricetin-o-hexose-deoxyhexose	–
    leaves	myricetin-o-deoxyhexose	–
    leaves	vicenin-2	–
    leaves	gallic acid	–
    leaves	catechin	–
    leaves	epicatechin	–
    leaves	myricetin-3-rhamnopyranoside	–
    leaves	[[quercetin	quercetin-3-glucopyranoside]]
    leaves	[[quercetin	quercetin-3-rhamnopyranoside]]
    leaves	delphinidin-3-glycoside (anthocyanin)	–
    leaves	other acylated anthocyanins	–
    leaves & bark	lupeol	–
    leaves & bark	α-amirin	–
    leaves & bark	olean-18-ene acid (oleanolic-type triterpene)	–
    leaves & bark	frideline	–
    leaves & bark	stigmasterol	–
    leaves & bark	prenol	–
    leaves & bark	α-tocopherol	–
    leaves & bark	24-methylenecycloartan-3-one	–
    leaves & bark	hexadecanoic acid methyl ester	–
    leaves & bark	hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester	–
    leaves & bark	octadecanoic acid methyl ester	–
    leaves & bark	phytol	–

  • operations

    • propagate plants: grown from seed immediately after harvest, can also propagate by stake or cutting in humid, protected beds
    • maintenance: prune to manage height and shape, especially in agroforestry systems, coppices well, add mulch and compost annually
    • harvest:
      • fruit: harvested when pods mature and become slightly soft, aril is eaten fresh or processed
      • seed: extracted from pulp, dried for flour or animal feed
      • leaves: used as mulch or fodder, collected manually
      • wood: harvested from prunings or old trees for firewood and biochar

• Age of tree (years)	Trees per ha	Pruning (%)	Spacing (m)	DM of leaves (kg/tree)	DM of wood (kg/tree)	DM of leaves (Mg/ha)	DM of wood (Mg/ha)	Total above-ground biomass (Mg/ha)
  1	5000	0	1 × 2	0.4	0.3	2.10	1.65	3.75
  2	2500	50	2 × 2	1.1	2.4	2.80	6.08	8.88
  3	1250	75	2 × 4	3.0	17.7	3.78	22.11	25.89
  4	625	88	4 × 4	4.3	35.9	2.69	22.43	25.12
  5	313	94	4 × 8	5.8	65.4	1.82	20.48	22.29
  6	156	97	8 × 8	6.1	73.0	0.95	11.39	12.34

  • source