2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Biriba (Latin Rollinia mucosa) - a fruit tree from the numerous Annonov family. In the Western Amazon, biriba is one of the favorite fruits.
Description
Biriba is a very spectacular fast-growing tree, the height of which can reach one and a half dozen meters, but most often the height of the biriba is five to eight meters. Leathery leaves of this culture are distinguished by an oval-oblong shape and grow in length from ten to twenty-five centimeters. And the undersides of all the leaves are characterized by an amazing velvety.
Bisexual biriba flowers are endowed with hairy sepals and soft petals, and its conical-heart-shaped fruits are slightly larger than oranges in size. True, there are also varieties whose fruits weigh as much as four kilograms. All fruits are incredibly cute: their yellow bark looks like growths consisting of conical hexagonal segments, and each segment in turn is equipped with a wart-like protrusion. The flesh of biriba is slightly slimy, white, transparent and very juicy. Also inside the fruit, you can find black-brown seeds, reaching a length of two centimeters.
As for the taste of the fruit, it is very similar to a mixture of apples and lemons, only, unlike these two fruits, biriba is very sweet.
Where grows
In the wild, biriba can be admired throughout almost all of South America (in Venezuela or Colombia, in Paraguay or Peru, as well as in colorful Brazil and in the north of Argentina). It is slightly less common in the Antilles and southern Mexico. And in culture it is grown mainly in Brazil and Peru. By the way, since the beginning of the last century, biribu has also been cultivated in the Philippines.
Application
Biribu is almost always eaten fresh. It also makes wonderful wine!
Biriba is an extremely nutritious fruit: if it is constantly present in the diet, then it is quite acceptable to give up meat even for a long time. The fruits of biriba are especially useful for people whose work is associated with significant psycho-emotional or physical stress. But those who want to lose weight should not abuse this fruit: biriba fruits are very high in calories.
Due to the high content of vitamin C, as well as B vitamins, biriba can boast not only antiscorbutic, but also tonic effect. It contains a lot of calcium, as well as phosphorus with iron - these valuable elements help to maintain healthy teeth and bones and proper hemoglobin levels.
In the countries of South and Central America, biriba is widely used in folk medicine - dried seeds ground into powder are actively used to get rid of enterocolitis as soon as possible. In addition, biriba has pronounced immunostimulating and antipyretic properties.
Unfortunately, these most useful fruits cannot boast of the ability to be stored for a long time - within a couple of days after harvesting, biriba deteriorates and turns black. In this regard, on an industrial scale, it is cultivated only near large cities.
And one more important nuance - it is important for everyone who wants to try biribu to know that it can easily provoke allergic reactions.
