Conservation Status of Inga
provided by EOL authors
The Conservation Status of Inga has not been evaluated thoroughly. The IUCN inventory of the global conservation status of species for the Genus Inga has not been addressed yet. Since the status of the some of the widely cultivated species (e.g., Inga edulis) is probably well known, the majority of the species remain poorly known or undercollected and their conservation status remain uncertain for science.
Dispersal in Inga
provided by EOL authors
The seed coat, the white edible sarcotesta with cotton-like appearance, constitutes the attractant for the dispersing animals (mostly primates). In order to reach to the sweet sarcotesta, dispersers and predators can eat from one of the sides of the pod, thus taking the seeds individually, or they eventually peel the pod from the end tip like a banana. Besides primates, which constitute the main known dispersers of Inga, other animals that could potentially act as a dispersor agents are some species of parrots.
Evolution of the Genus Inga
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Inga, with near 300+ species constitutes an important component of Neotropical lowland forests. DNA sequence data is consistent with a recent diversification in the Genus (molecular evidence suggests that Inga seems to have diversified within the last two million years, Richardson et al. 2001). Richardson and colleagues (2001) estimated that speciation in Inga had to be concentrated in the past 10 million years, with the bulk of the species arising in the last 2 million years. This chapter of extensive diversification coincides (according to the authors) with relatively recent major geological phenomena, such as uplift of the Andes, the bridging of the Isthmus of Panama, and Quaternary glacial fluctuations.
General Distribution of the Genus
provided by EOL authors
Neotropical, extending into temperate zones in the North of Mexico and in the South of Uruguay. The distributional range comprises from Durango and Coahuila (aprox. 25 degrees N)in Mexico, to the delta of Rio de la Plata (aprox. 34 degrees S) in Uruguay. The genus is abundant in the pluvial montane forests and in the lowland pluvial forests along the Neotropical humid zone, and occupies habitats from sea level to 3000 m of elevation. Inga is restricted to riparian habitats and in periodically flooded areas, although many species are confined to pluvial forests in non-flooded areas. Inga species occupy humid environments with well drained soils.
General Habitats
provided by EOL authors
The genus Inga occupies mainly wet forest habitats. For successful germination the seeds of Inga require shade and high humidity. A few number of known species can occupy semi-arid areas, although they are restricted to temporary or permanent water courses. Within the wet-rainy forests, members of Inga can be found in a variety of niches. They can represent understorey elements as well as properly canopy trees. Many of the known species require high light conditions for development and can be found as a gregarious species. Many others are typically found in secondary forest conditions with high rates of growth and with really large leaves that allow them to success over other competitors. These species in particular prefer poorly drained or periodically inundated areas, swamps, and riverbanks.
Growth and Habit in Inga
provided by EOL authors
Inga members range from treelets and trees up to 40 m in height, and usually presenting a smooth cylindrical trunk. Most of the species have smooth bark with numerous lenticels all over it, these structures can be arranged in either horizontal or vertical rows on the stem. Buttresses are found in few species which get large dimensions.
Throughout the genus, leaf arrangement and branching pattern appear constant. This pattern agrees to the architectural model of Troll (Halle and Oldeman, 1970), in which all axes are plagiotropic from an early stage. The broad, shallow, horizontal crown typical of Inga members is produced by the distichous phyllotaxis and horizontal growth of the branches. Poncy (1985) discusses with great detail the growth of the young Inga plants.
Identification and Taxonomic Resources for the Genus Inga
provided by EOL authors
In the literature you can find the most complete and extensive up-to-date taxonomic revision made for the genus Inga by Dr. Terence D. Pennington from Kew Gardens, plus other complementary works from the same author including taxonomic treatments for the Ingas from Ecuador and Peru and a compilation of articles dealing with the different uses given to species of Inga:
Pennington, T. D. 1997. The Genus Inga. Botany. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Pennington, T.D., and E. C. M. Fernandes. (eds.). 1998. The genus Inga. Utilization. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Revelo, N., and T. D. Pennington. 1997. El genero Inga en el Ecuador- Morfologia, Distribucion y Usos. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Reynel, C. and T. D. Pennington. 1997. El genero Inga en el Peru - Morfologia, Distribucion y Usos. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Web resources for taxomy, botanical nomenclature, distribution, and literature (including some images) for the species of the genus Inga, can be found in the following web sites:
http://www.ildis.org/cgi-bin/Araneus.pl (The world database of Legumes).
http://dps.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/BRAHMS/Sample/Inga (a very complete database for the genus Inga based on the monographic work of Dr. T. D. Pennington)
http://www.tropicos.org/ (the database of the Missouri Botanical Garden, includes distribution maps and images)
http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/vii2.asp (database of the New York Botanical Garden, with distribution information, literature and type images).
http://www.ipni.org/ (nomenclature database with literature)
http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/ICN/ (database of the Colombian National Herbarium, with links to high quality images of mostly all specimens in the herbarium, distribution data, uses, common names)
Inga and insects
provided by EOL authors
The genus Inga is known by neotropical farmers to attract a high diversity and abundance of insects to its vicinities. Grasshoppers, katydids, and larvae of Lepidoptera are among the insects feeding on Inga leaves for food (Koptur, 1983b). Leaf cutter ants also use the leaves of Inga but as a substrate on which to cultivate the fungus that constitutes the sole food for their larvae (Nichols-Orianz and Schultz, 1990). The fruit fly Anastrepha distincta (Diptera: Tephritidae) infest a small percentage of the pods of some Inga species (Hernandez-Ortiz and Perez-Alonso, 1993); beetle larvae also commonly exploit the fruits of Inga (e.g. the genus Conotrachelus, Coleoptera:Curculionidae: Molytinae; also genera from the families Nitidulidae and Staphylinidae) (Valente and Gorayeb, 1984). Small wood-boring insects (Platypus ratzeburgi) are found to attack species of Inga (Gallardo, 1987).
Different insect taxa represent floral visitors and pollinators for Inga, including 19 families representing 5 orders: Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera (Koptur, 1983a). Effective pollinators in Inga are represented by hummingbirds and species of the lepidopteran families Hesperiidae, Sphingidae, and Uranidae.
Up to one third or more of the developing foliage of species of Inga may be eaten by herbivores (Kursar et al. 2009). It has been shown that as high as up to 43 species of Inga may coexist at a single site, and this may in part be explained because species differ considerably in antiherbivore defences, the defences varying independently between the species (Kursar et al. 2009).
Inga look alikes
provided by EOL authors
The genus Inga is generally regarded as very easy to identify within the species of the Neotropical flora. Its characteristic generic morphological uniformity makes it completely unmistakable from other Neotropical tree genera. However, there is one legume species that resembles very closely the morphology of the genus Inga. This legume tree species belongs to the genus Cojoba (which is also a member of the subfamily Mimosoideae as Inga is). The species of Cojoba that very close resembles one of the genus Inga is Cojo rufescens (Cojoba rufescens (Benth.) Britt. & Rose). This species vegetatively resembles very close an Inga species, but although the leaves are simply pinnate and the structure of the flowers is similar, in Cojoba rufescens the legume is dehiscent, moniliform and the interior of the legume valves is deep reddish in color; on the contrary, in Inga the legume is indehiscent, the legume is continuous (not moniliform), and the valves never have red coloration.
Introduction to the Genus Inga
provided by EOL authors
The Genus Inga Mill. (1754) belongs to the Subfamily Mimosoideae tribe Ingeae Benth. (1875) and comprises near 300 species of trees with a strictly Neotropical distribution. Brazil harbors the greatest number of species (near 140 spp.), followed by Peru (92 spp.), Colombia (near 76+ spp.) and Ecuador (75 spp.) (Pennington, 1997). Due to its great number of species, the Genus Inga is subdivided into 14 Taxonomic Sections characterized by shared morphological attributes (Pennington, 1997).
Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation in Inga
provided by EOL authors
Various authors have reported nodulation in several species of Inga (Allen & Allen, 1981; Moreira et al., 1992) as well as effective associations between different Inga species and mycorrhizal fungi. Rhizobial partners have also been found in members of Inga (Allen & Allen, 1939; de Faria, 1995). The mycorrhizal fungi that have been found to be associated with Inga belong to the group endomycorrhizae (Reategui et al., 1995). In many species of Inga nodulation has been reported, but N2-fixation has only been quantified in few of these species (Roskoski and Van Kessel, 1985).
Seed and Seed Development
provided by EOL authors
The Inga seed structure is completely distinguishable from other genera of the Mimosoideae. The white, "cotton like", seed coat is produced by the Malpighian cells of the integument, which become an hypertrophied layer (Maumont, 1990). This enlarged, sugar-rich Malpighian cells form the white edible sarcotesta, which is the attractant for many dispersing animals. Germination of Inga seeds need correct conditions of moisture and shade. The seeds usually begin to germinate inside the unopened pod with the splitting of the seed coat followed by the development of a radicle of several centimeters long. The embryo grows quickly, beginning with the elongation of the radicle and followed by the growth of the cotyledons which become green and photosynthetic. The first pair of leaves often have one pair of pinnae and are opposite, the petiole appears also winged. The leaves that will form later are always arranged spirally. Leaves always have stipules (including the first-formed leaves), and their shape is usually much narrower than that shown by the adult leaves.
Inga
provided by wikipedia EN
Inga is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing trees[2] and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. Inga's leaves are pinnate, and flowers are generally white. Many of the hundreds of species are used ornamentally.
Several related plants have been placed into this genus at one time, for example Yopo (Cohoba, Mopo, Nopo or Parica – Anadenanthera peregrina – as Inga niopo).[3]
The seeds are covered with sweet white powder. The pulp covering the seeds is lightly fibrous and sweet, and rich in minerals; it is edible in the raw state. The tree's name originates from the Tupi word in-gá meaning "soaked", due to the fruit powder consistency.[4] The tree usually blooms twice a year.
Within the Inga genus there are around 300 species, most of them native and growing in the Amazon forest region although some species are also found in Mexico, Greater and Lesser Antilles and other countries in South America, being an exclusively neotropical genus. The trees are usually found by river and lake edges because their seeds are carried there by floods.
Leaves of an
Inga-species
All Inga species produce their seeds in "bean-like" pods and some can reach up to 1 m long, in general the pods are 10–30 cm long.
Trees can reach up to 15 metres and they are widely used for producing shade over coffee plants. The plant benefits from well drained soil. The flowers are white with some green and the tree can produce fruits almost all year long.
Inga species, most notably Inga edulis (commonly known as "ice-cream-bean" or, in Spanish, "guama", "guaba", "guaba de bejuco" or "paterna" depending on the country or region) often have edible pulp. The name derives from the fact that those of I. edulis resembles vanilla ice cream in flavour.
In Ecuador, Inga edulis is known as "guaba de bejuco" and, the other popular species there, Inga spectabilis , as "guaba de machete".[5]
Use in agroforestry
Alley cropping techniques using species of Inga have been developed to restore soil fertility, and thereby stem the tide of continual slashing and burning of the rainforest.[6][7] Species which have proven effective for alley cropping include Inga edulis and Inga oerstediana. Much of the research was done by Mike Hands at Cambridge University over a 20-year period.[2] Inga species are also commonly used as shade trees for coffee, cocoa, and tea.[8]
Other uses
It is often used as lumber in construction and furniture making.[9]
See also
References
-
^ "USDA GRIN taxonomy:Genus: Inga Mill". Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
-
^ a b Elkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" The Guardian 21 April 2004
-
^ "USDA GRIN taxonomy:GRIN Species Records of Inga". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
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^ "Significado de ingá (dicionário inFormal)" (in Portuguese).
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^ Sotomayor, Ignacio and Duicela, Luis (1995) "Control Integrado de las Principales Enfermedades Foliares del Cafeto en el Ecuador" (preview in Spanish)
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^ Haugen, C., Revelo, N. "Amazon Rainforest Restoration and Conservation in Ecuador: Inga spp.". Retrieved 18 September 2006.
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^ Elkan, D. (2005, February). "The Rainforest Saver." The Ecologist, 35 (1), 56–63.
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^ Valle, Guillermo (2010). "Inga Alley Cropping Manual". Rainforest Saver.
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^ "Guatemalan Mora". Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
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Inga: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Inga sp. –
MHNT Inga is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. Inga's leaves are pinnate, and flowers are generally white. Many of the hundreds of species are used ornamentally.
Several related plants have been placed into this genus at one time, for example Yopo (Cohoba, Mopo, Nopo or Parica – Anadenanthera peregrina – as Inga niopo).
The seeds are covered with sweet white powder. The pulp covering the seeds is lightly fibrous and sweet, and rich in minerals; it is edible in the raw state. The tree's name originates from the Tupi word in-gá meaning "soaked", due to the fruit powder consistency. The tree usually blooms twice a year.
Within the Inga genus there are around 300 species, most of them native and growing in the Amazon forest region although some species are also found in Mexico, Greater and Lesser Antilles and other countries in South America, being an exclusively neotropical genus. The trees are usually found by river and lake edges because their seeds are carried there by floods.
Fruit of an Inga-species
Leaves of an Inga-species
All Inga species produce their seeds in "bean-like" pods and some can reach up to 1 m long, in general the pods are 10–30 cm long.
Trees can reach up to 15 metres and they are widely used for producing shade over coffee plants. The plant benefits from well drained soil. The flowers are white with some green and the tree can produce fruits almost all year long.
Inga species, most notably Inga edulis (commonly known as "ice-cream-bean" or, in Spanish, "guama", "guaba", "guaba de bejuco" or "paterna" depending on the country or region) often have edible pulp. The name derives from the fact that those of I. edulis resembles vanilla ice cream in flavour.
In Ecuador, Inga edulis is known as "guaba de bejuco" and, the other popular species there, Inga spectabilis , as "guaba de machete".
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- cc-by-sa-3.0
- copyright
- Wikipedia authors and editors
Fruit of an Inga-species 
Leaves of an Inga-species 
