Tropical Plant "Biriba"
Rollinia mucosa

• Biriba Description
• Biriba Origin and Distribution
• Biriba Varieties
• Biriba Pollination
• Biriba Climate and Soil
• Biriba Season and Harvesting
• Biriba Pests and Diseases
• Biriba Food Uses
• Biriba Other Uses

Biriba Description

This fast-growing tree ranges from 13 to 50 ft (4-15 m) in height; has brown, hairy twigs and alternate, deciduous, oblong-elliptic or ovate-oblong leaves, pointed at the apex, rounded at the base, 4 to 10 in (10-25 cm) long, thin but somewhat leathery and hairy on the underside. The flowers, borne 1 to 3 or occasionally more together in the leaf axils, are hermaphroditic, 3/4 to 1 3/8 in (23.5 cm) wide; triangular, with 3 hairy sepals, 3 large, fleshy outer petals with upturned or horizontal wings, and 3 rudimentary inner petals.

The fruit is conical to heart-shaped, or oblate; to 6 in (15 cm) in diameter; the rind yellow and composed of more or less hexagonal, conical segments, each tipped with a wart-like protrusion; nearly 1/8 in (3 mm) thick, leathery, tough and indehiscent. The pulp is white, mucilaginous, translucent, juicy, subacid to sweet. There is a slender, opaque-white core and numerous dark-brown, elliptic or obovate seeds 5/8 to 3/4 in (1.6-2 cm) long.

Biriba Origin and Distribution

This species has an extensive natural range, from Peru and northern Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil and northward to Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia and southern Mexico; Trinidad, the Lesser Antilles including Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Vincent; and Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. It is much cultivated around Iquitos, Peru, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the fruits are marketed in abundance. It is the favorite fruit in western Amazonia.

Seeds were first introduced into the United States from Para, Brazil, by O.W. Barrett in 1908 (S.P.I. #22512); a second time from Parain 1910 (S.P.I. #27579) and again in 1912 (S.P.I. #27609). The United States Department of Agriculture received seeds from Rio de Janeiro in 1914 (S.P.I. #38171). P.J. Wester may have taken seeds to the Philippines where the species first fruited in 1915. Seedlings were distributed to pioneers in southern Florida but only a very few trees exist here today.

Biriba Varieties

The only named selection referred to in the literature is 'Regnard' reported by P.J. Wester in 1917 as the best variety introduced into the Philippines. A form in the western Amazon region has very pronounced points; weighs up to 8.8 lbs (4 kg).

Biriba Pollination

Brazilian scientists have found that 4 species of beetles of the family Chrysomelidae pollinate the flowers, but only 32% of the blooms set fruit. Fruiting begins 55 days after the onset of flowering.

Biriba Climate and Soil

The biriba is limited to warm lowlands, from 20º north to 30º south latitudes in tropical America. In Puerto Rico, it occurs at elevations between 500 and 2,000 ft (150-600 m). It has succumbed to temperature drops to 26.5ºF (-3.10ºC) in southern Florida. In Brazil, the tree grows naturally in low areas along the Amazon subject to periodic flooding and it was expected to do well in the Florida Everglades. In the Philippines it is said to flourish where the rainfall is equally distributed throughout the year. Calcareous soils do not seem to be unsuitable in Florida or Puerto Rico as long as they are moist.

Biriba Season and Harvesting

In Amazonia, the tree may flower and fruit off and on during the year but the fruits are most abundant from January to June. The fruits ripen in February and March in Rio de Janeiro. In Florida, fruits have matured in November and December. In South America, the fruit is picked when still green and hard in order to transport it intact to urban markets where it gradually turns yellow and soft. When the fruit is fully ripe, handling causes the wart-like protuberances on the rind to turn brown or near-black, rendering it unattractive.

Biriba Pests and Diseases

The most important pests in Brazil are the larvae of Cerconota anonella (Lepidopterae) which attack fruits in the process of maturing. The borer, Cratosomus bombina, penetrates the bark and trunk. A stinging caterpillar, Sabine sp., feeds on the leaves. A white fly, Aleurodicus cocois, attacks foliage of young and adult plants. Pseudococcus brevipes and Aspidiotus destructor are found on the leaves and sometimes on the fruits. Black spots on the leaves are caused by the fungus Cercospora anonae. Glomerella cingulata causes dieback and fruit rot in Florida.