Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Chrysobalanaceae
ICACO, COCO PLUM
Occasional evergreen shrub (2-3 m) that occupies the vegetated coastal margin of sandy beaches. Icaco is one of the most hardy and salt resistant plants of the area and it has the further asset of providing edible and good-tasting, rose-colored fruits and seeds.
Description: Icaco is a low, beachside shrub made up of a thick network of stiff twigs and branches that emerge from a small (10 cm in diameter) and rather twisted, brown-barked bole. Rather than growing vertically and gaining height, Icaco’s trunk tends to meander nearly horizontally above the beach, increasing the width of the tree more than its height. With a generous foliage cover, this shrub presents a dense, wiry, and impenetrable crown. Leaves (7 cm by 6 cm) are simple, alternate, smooth and waxy. They are arranged in two tiers along either side of the twigs. Nearly round (truly orbicular) in shape, the blades are only slightly narrower (attenuate) near their proximal end, where they attach to the short, 3 mm petioles. Leaf venation is pinnate and the yellow color of the main veins contrasts markedly with the green of the rest of the lamina. Drip tips are entirely lacking.
Flowers grow from small terminal and subterminal panicles. Each small (8 mm) blossom consists of five pale green sepals, no petals, and a ring-like cluster of about 20 white stamens. Flowers are in evidence sporadically throughout the year, but activity is most intense from March through May. Fruits inflate quickly thereafter, becoming ripe within about two months. When mature, they are 4 cm globes, colored with an attractive white and rose or pinkish mottling. The pulp is soft and spongy – having the consistency (and the size – if not the flavor) of a marshmallow. A single, round seed (1 cm) is found inside each fruit. Harvests are heaviest during the months from May through August.
Similar Species: Icaco is an easy species to identify. No other plant in Manuel Antonio National Park (MANP) – much less along the shoreline – shares its nearly round – orbicular – foliage.
Natural History: Chrysobalanus icaco has an interesting and unusual geographic distribution: it is considered to be native to both tropical Africa and America. At the species level, such intercontinental ranges are rare and it is puzzling to understand how they could come about. Plate tectonics and continental drift fail to provide an answer since these two land masses separated some 120 million years ago – long before this species, or many other angiosperms, evolved. Surprisingly, another Chrysobalanaceae – Parinari excelsa – a tall tree known from the Osa Peninsula, has a similar tropical American and African distribution (Mabberley, 1978).
Uses: Icaco fruits and seeds are edible and they have a mild, pleasantly sweet flavor. The tree has been cultivated for this reason (Mabberley, 1978). The seeds also are rich in oils were used in the Caribbean for illumination. Finally, a black dye has been obtained from the fruits as well as the leaves (Zamora, 1989).
Distribution: In MANP, Icaco is found growing within the vegetated fringe of the sandy beaches. Icaco is distributed all along both of Costa Rica’s coasts. In America, it ranges from Mexico and the Antilles, south to southern Brazil. In west Africa, it extends from Guinea to Angola.
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope 