Mangaba, from Cerrado to Restinga

The Mangaba or Mangabeira is a small lactescent tree, with leaves sometimes reddish, evident veins, beautiful white flowers, and sweet fruits. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. In Brazil, it is abundant in the restinga and cerrado areas.

“Besides the fruits that this land creates,
there is also no shortage of others in Bahia;
the mangava mimosa
speckled with beautiful hues,
has the famous smell,
as if it were fragrant musk; (continues...)”

(Manuel Botelho de Oliveira — “À Ilha de Maré,” 1705)

“The mangabeira... appears hereafter in increasing numbers in the hot and dry regions of the hinterland, and is often cultivated, as in the provinces of Bahia, Pernambuco, and Ceará, together with guava and pineapple.” (Spix & Martius,  1828).

“It contains milky, sticky juice, rich in resin, which, when hardened, could perhaps be used like common gum. With the fruits, the local people prepare a pleasant and nutritious refreshment, which, however, taken in excess, would color the skin and sclera (white of the eye).”

“The sertanejos of Bahia include among their remedies the wild mangaba tree, from the hot plateau of Bahia’s interior, used to treat abdominal organ congestion, particularly of the liver, as well as jaundice and chronic skin diseases.”

In more recent times, the fruits have been eaten plain or used to obtain pulp for juices and ice cream. They are also prepared as jelly, sweets, cakes, cookies, and liqueurs.

The bark, latex, leaves, and roots of Mangaba are used as medicine and the wood can be used as firewood. The production is mainly extractivist and harvesting is generally done by women. The states of Sergipe, Minas Gerais, and Bahia are the largest producers.

The natural populations of Mangaba are currently in decline in all states of the North, Northeast, Central-West and Southeast due to the replacement of the remaining cerrado and coastal tablelands by monocultures of grains, sugarcane, and eucalyptus, and urban expansion.