Tropical Plant "Pink flowered inga"
Inga vulpina

Characteristics - The pink flowered inga is a fruit tree, rarely cultivated and not very frequent in its natural habitat, the savannas and rocky fields of eastern and southeastern Brazil, from Bahia and Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina, extending to the Atlantic Forest in the two southern states. It is an evergreen tree, 4-10 m tall. Leaves are pinnately compound with 3-4 pairs of leaflets, sparsely hispid on the underside, 8-11 cm long (terminal pair) and 4-6 cm long (basal pair). Inflorescences in axillary spikes, densely clustered and solitary, form from November to January. The fruits are flattened legumes, hispid -pubescent with the seeds encased in sweet, floccose aril.

Uses - The aril of the fruit is consumed in its natural state, but is not widely appreciated.

Propagation - Propagated by seeds.