Genipa americanatrees are up to 30 m tall and up to 60 cmdbh.[2][3][4] Their bark is smooth with little fissures.[4] The leaves are opposite, obovate, or obovate oblong, 10–35 cm long, 6–13 cm wide, and glossy dark green, with entire margin, acute or acuminate apex, and attenuated base.[2][5][3] The inflorescences are cymes up to 10 cm long.[2] The flowers are white to yellowish, slightly fragrant, calyx bell-shaped, corolla at 2–4.5 cm long, trumpet-shaped, and five- or six-lobed.[2][5][3] The five short stamens are inserted on top of the corolla tube.[5] The fruit is a thick-skinned edible greyish berry 10–12 cm long, 5–9 cm in diameter.[2][5]
Genipa americana is native to the tropical forests of the Americas, from the Caribbean south to Argentina.[2][6][7] It is present from sea level up to 1200 m of elevation,[4] although some argue the original native range as being northern South America.[8]
The following compounds have been isolated from G. americana: genipic acid,[10] genipinic acid,[10]genipin[13] (all three from the fruit) and geniposidic acid (leaves).[10]
^ abcdefLiogier, Alain H. (1985). Descriptive Flora of Puerto Rico and Adjacent Islands. La Editorial, UPR. p. 97. ISBN9780847723386.
^ abcdFrancis, Macbride, J.; E., Dahlgren, B. (1936). "Flora of Peru /". Fieldiana. v.13:pt.6:no.1 [Rubiaceae]: 106.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abcdefghiLópez, René; Montero, Martín (2005). "27 - Genipa americana". Manual de identificación de especies forestales con manejo certificable por comunidades (in Spanish). Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas "SINCHI". ISBN9789589759745.
^ abcdGrandtner, M. M.; Chevrette, Julien (2013). Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press. p. 263. ISBN9780123969545.
^ abcHanelt, Peter; Research, Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant (2001). Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: (Except Ornamentals). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1775. ISBN9783540410171.
^Duarte, Odilo; Paull, Robert (2015). Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World. CABI. pp. 284–285. ISBN9781780645056.
^ abcdConnolly, J.D.; Hill, R.A. (1991). Dictionary of Terpenoids. Vol. 1. CRC Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN9780412257704.
^Coimbra Sanz, Germán (2014). Diccionario enciclopédico cruceño, 3rd edition. Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de Santa Cruz. p. 54.
^Chacon, Thiago (2013). On Proto-Languages and Archaeological Cultures: pre-history and material culture in the Tukanoan Family. In Revista Brasileira de Linguística Antropológica. Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 217–245.
^Bajaj, Y. P. S. (2012). Medicinal and Aromatic Plants IV. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 164. ISBN9783642770043.
