L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 931. 1759
G. caruto H.B.K.; G. americana var. caruto(H.B.K.) K. Schum.
Genipap, Guayatil blanco, Guayatil colorado, Jagua, Jaguaamarillo, Jagua blanca, Jagua colorado, Jagua negro, Jagua demontaña
Tree, to 20 m tall and to 30 (50) cm dbh; outer bark dark, notfissured but with many raised lenticels; stems stout, withprominent scars. Leaves clustered at ends of branches; stipulestriangular, to ca 1.5 cm long, entire, deciduous; petioles 5-10 mmlong, thick; blades obovate or elliptic, acute or short-acuminate,narrowed to acute or obtuse base, mostly 15-42 cm long, 5-19 cmwide, glabrous above, almost glabrous to densely pubescent belowwith short erect trichomes. Cymes stout, terminal or subterminal,peduncles short; flowers 5-parted; pedicels ca 1 cm long;calyx truncate or shallowly lobed, 7-10 mm long; corolla yellow orwhite becoming yellow, thick, sericeous, 2-3 cm long, the limb ca 4cm wide, the tube 6-10 mm wide, the lobes divided more thanhalfway, spreading at anthesis, later recurving; stamens exserted;anthers 8-14 mm long, sessile or with a very short filament,attached well below middle of tube, the anther becomingrecurved between corolla lobes; style exserted ca 7 mm above rim,the lobes 2, thick, ca 7 mm long, remainingclosed until after shedding of pollen. Berries baccate, globose orellipsoid, 5-7 cm long, becoming fleshy at maturity, the calyxpersistent on fruit and forming a thick-rimmed crater ca 1 cmacross; seeds numerous, flattened, yellow, ca 1 cm long. Croat6163, 12728.
Frequent in the forest and occasional along the shore. Flowersto some extent throughout the year, but mostly in the rainy season,usually from May to July. The fruits mature in about a year; theyare eaten by tamarins in May and June (Hladik & Hladik, 1969).One tree had mature fruits on it for 2 years, during which time itlost its leaves twice. Leaves are usually replaced during the latedry and early rainy seasons.
The sap of the plant, although clear, quickly turns blue. Bawaand Opler (1975) reported this species to be dioecious, but alltrees on BCI that flowered also set fruit.
Mexico to Argentina; West Indies. In Panama, ecologicallyvariable, occurring mostly around the Gulf of Panama on the Pacificslope, extending to the Caribbean coast in the region of the canal,and characteristic of tropical moist forest (Tosi, 1971); knownfrom premontane dry forest in Los Santos, from tropical dryforest in Los Santos, Coclé, and Panama, from premontane moistforest in the Canal Zone and Los Santos, from tropical moist forestin the Canal Zone, Bocas del Toro, Herrera, Panama, and Darien,from premontane wet forest in Chiriqui and Panama, and fromtropical wet forest in Panama.
See Fig. 520.
