Inga punctata Willd.
Mimosaceae GUAJINIQUIL
Common understory evergreen tree (10-15 m) associated with secondary growth or primary forest edges (beach and trailsides) where insolation is abundant. The long, green pods this species produces are edible and represent an important food source for many arboreal mammals.
Description: Guajiniquil has a small trunk, reaching only about 20 cm in diameter. Its bole grows straight when found among other trees, but becomes very inclined and bent when located along the forest edge where insolation levels can be quite uneven. Dark, gray-brown bark covers the nearly cylindrical trunk. Branching in this species is profuse and the thin limbs give rise to a thick, often irregular crown. Raised, rust-colored point lenticels texture the surfaces of the small twigs. Leaves (20 by 12 cm) are pinnately compound and alternate. They possess exactly four, slightly asymmetrical, inward-curving (falcate) leaflets, with the distal pair (14 by 5 cm) much larger than those located proximally (10 by 4 cm). The blades are glossy, dark green and smooth. Elliptical in shape, they show well developed drip tips and pinnate venation. Small, sessile glands are found on the petiole between each set of leaflets. New, light green foliage is produced in large quantities at the start of the tree’s annual fertility cycle in July. Flowers occur in dense, head-like, axillary spikes that are about 4 cm long. Each blossom (1 wide by 3 cm long) is made up of a tubular calyx, a five-pointed tubular corolla and a cluster of long, thin, and showy white stamens that project outward and serve at the flower’s main attraction. 
The single, central pistil is barely distinguishable amid this mass of filaments. Blossoms emit a strong, aromatic odor that is noticeable from the ground during periods of intense activity. The flowering season is extended and sometimes discontinuous, with trees flowering multiply at punctuated intervals over a period of several months (from late September through January). However, it is highly synchronized as well, with all regional individuals blossoming in unison. Fruits are true pods, measuring about 20 cm long and 2 cm wide. They are glossy green, somewhat curved, and flattened. Inside, the glossy brown and bare seeds (completely lacking a tough seed coat) are wrapped in a white, pasty aril. Harvest begins a full ten months after the first flowers die, and it lasts from July through September. Large crops are produced annually. The unprotected seeds germinate almost immediately upon landing in a suitable, moist site.
Similar Species: Among Pacific coastal flora, Inga punctata has relatively unique foliage characteristics. Its pinnate leaf configuration, consisting of two slightly asymmetrical and mirror-image leaflet pairs, is shared by only two other local trees. Cassia fruticosa (see description) is a much smaller plant of treelet size and its petioles lack the conspicuous, circular glands found in I. punctata. Inga portobellensis is also a smaller in stature and its petioles are “winged” – sporting narrow leaf-blade-like fringes that run the length of the petiole on both sides. Inga punctata flowers, with their fused, inconspicuous petals and preponderance of long, filamentous stamens, are a hallmark of the extremely large Inga genus. Shaped as long pods with ariled seeds, Inga fruits are also all quite similar. Since many other Inga species are present in this region, care must be taken in their identification. Fortunately, confusion can usually be avoided by careful examination of the leaf.
Natural History: Guajiniquil flowers are pollinated by a multitude of insects, bees, butterflies, moths (especially the migratory, green and black Urania fulgens) and hummingbirds (Stiles & Skutch, 1989). Fruits are avidly harvested by squirrel and white-faced Monkeys. Ripping the pods open lengthwise, they eat the pasty seed aril. Often, overzealous and impatient individuals attempt to rush the ripening process, and wasted, immature fruit then litter the ground.
Uses: The seed arils of I. punctata are edible, pasty, and somewhat sweet. The Guava of commerce, sold mainly in farmers markets and in rural areas, is also an Inga (I. spectabilis), however its pods are very much larger, yielding a much greater quantity of edible fruit. As are all species belonging to the Mimosaceae family, Ingas are legumes and thus they help enrich the forest ecosystem by taking nitrogen from the air and adding it to the soil. Certain Inga and Erythrina (another nitrogen-fixing genus in the Fabaceae) species have been used traditionally as shade trees in coffee plantations. The soil-enhancing benefits of this choice are obvious.
Distribution: Inga punctata is found in secondary forests and commonly along beach and trailsides. It ranges from Mexico to Peru and is present in the West Indies (Croat, 1978).
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope 
