Popoatli

Popoatli (Kigelia palunia) is a species of Flowering plant in the genus Kigelia within the family Bignoniaceae. The genus consists of several other species including Kigelia alhacana, which shares a similar range to the Kigelia palunia throughout tropical Alharu and Aurelia, from Shffahkia to Faramount, and east to Metztlitlalio. The Kigelia are most common throughout south-east Palu Peninsula and are used as a secondary food source for the Aslo people with high cultural value. The Popoatli tree grows a fruit (also called Popoatli) up to 5-30 cm in length depending if in the wild or in farms.

K. palunia habit, fruit, flower and seeds.

Etymology

Popoatli comes from the Tapelt word “Popoya” for the fruit and the Aslo word “Camotli” for potato, due to the fruit’s resemblance to sweet potatoes. In Metztli, Popoatli is “Popoyacamotli Cuatitli”, literally meaning “Potatofruit Tree”. The Limonaian traders shortened the name to “Popoatli”. Which became the international name of both the fruit and tree.

Habitat

The Popoatli grows up to 10 meters in height with large spreading branches that bunch into clumps. The bark is pale grey with vertical ridges to allow water to slide off with relative ease. The interior wood of a Popoatli Tree is a pale light grey. The Popoatli tree evolved large buttresses to allow for stability in the mountains, giving the tree it’s a unique hourglass shape. The tree grows optimally in a pH of 5 to 7 and a temperature of around 17-20°C.

Foliage

The tree is evergreen within the South Palu Rainforests and Shffahkian Rainforests, and deciduous in regions with long dry seasons. The leaves of the Popoatli Tree are opposite or in whorls of four, 60-80 cm long, pinnate, with 6 to 8 oval leaflets up to 30 cm long and 4 cm broad. In Rainforests, the Popoatli Tree's leaves possess drip tips.

Fruit

The Popoatli Fruit is a berry weighing 3 to 5 kilograms in cultivation and 5-10 kilograms in the wild. When unripe the Popoatli is a pale lime green, which transitions to yellow, orange, then a dark crimson magenta which is when the fruit is ripe. The Popoatli is covered in a thick rind, when unripe, has many incredibly hard bumps. The inside flesh of a Popoatli depends on how ripe. The Popoatli Fruit has many seeds in the center, usually between 10-30 centimeters in the wild and 5-10 in farms. The shape of the Popoatli fruit is similar to that of a Kigelia fruit.

Unripe Popoatli has a starchy texture with a widely considered bland taste and is pale green in color. The Popoatli is not as toxic as it’s Kigelia cousin but still requires to be boiled and steamed to remove the toxins and more laxative nature of the unripe Popoatli. The most common use for unripe Popoatli is for medicinal purposes, or baked into Popoatli bread.

The Ripe Popoatli has a dark pinkish flesh that has a texture similar to that of strawberries with a more generic fruit-sweet taste. The toxins in a ripe Popoatli is at a safe level, however rapid consumption of a high amount of Popoatli can still cause indigestion and temporary sickness. The Rind of Ripe Popoatli can be consumed but is considered bland, starchy, and chewy with higher concentrations of toxins still present.

Cultural Significance

The Popoatli is the national fruit of Metztlitlalio and has a wide range of uses including medicinal (both traditional and modern) and general consumption.