Inga alba is a species of tree from the family Fabaceae, native to Central and South America. The common name in English is white inga.[3]

Inga alba
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Inga
Species:
I. alba
Binomial name
Inga alba
Synonyms[2]
  • Inga carachensis Pittier
  • Inga fraxinea Willd.
  • Inga spruceana Benth.
  • Inga thyrsoidea Desv.
  • Mimosa alba Sw.
  • Mimosa fraxinea Poir.

Description edit

Inga alba can grow up to 40 m in height. It has red bark and 4 to 5 leaf pairs (occasionally 3 or 6 pairs), with the distal pair 6.1–10 cm long and 2.5—7.7 cm wide. The rachis is 5—13.5 cm long and wingless. The glands are cone-shaped, the stipules obsolete. The inflorescences are short, the shaft is 4–20 mm long and the rachis 5–8 mm long. The flowers are pale green and the stamen are white. The fruits are flat up to 14 cm long and 2 cm wide.[4] It flowers between August and November and bears fruit between January and March.[5]

Distribution edit

Inga alba's distribution ranges from Mexico and Central America down to Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in South America.[6]

Classification edit

The species was in originally described in 1788 by Olof Swartz as Mimosa alba. It was placed in the genus Inga in 1806 by Carl Ludwig von Willdenow.

References edit

  1. ^ Roberts, A. (2019). "Inga alba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T62026232A62026234. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62026232A62026234.en. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  2. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  3. ^ Grandtner, MM; Chevrette, Julien (2013). Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press. p. 318.
  4. ^ Baumgartner, Thomas (2001). An Introductory Field Guide To The Flowering Plants Of The Golfo Dulce Rainforests of Costa Rica, Volume 78. Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum. p. 278. ISBN 9783854740728.
  5. ^ Lobo, Jorge; et al. (2008). "Phenology of tree species of the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce region, Costa Rica" (PDF). Stapfia. 88 (zugleich Kataloge der oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen Neue Serie 80): 547–555.
  6. ^ "Localities documented in Tropicos sources". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2013-06-28.

"Inga alba". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 28 June 2013.

External links edit

  Data related to Inga alba at Wikispecies