Tallow plum
Also called Tallow woodXimenia americana · Olacaceae family
A sour yellow-orange fruit; treat its seed and oil as a separate question from the fruit flesh.
Find it near DetroitGet to know it
Tallow plum is a small yellow-to-orange fruit with sour flesh around one seed. Its waxy feel gives it the name “tallow,” and the pulp can be eaten fresh or turned into juice and jelly. The thorny plant grows from Florida to tropical Africa and Asia.
What it is
Ximenia americana bears round or oval fruits about 3 cm (1.2 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) across. The ripe skin is yellow to orange, enclosing green, fleshy pulp. Inside is a woody, light-yellow seed with a brittle shell. The pulp is the part people eat; the seed isn’t chewed, because it contains hydrocyanic acid.
Where it comes from
Tallow plum has a broad native range across the tropics and subtropics, including India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Singapore and the United States. In Florida it grows in scrub, dry hardwood forest and swamps. Elsewhere its habitats include savannah, dry woodland, riverbanks and coastal ground: this is a fruit of several kinds of wild landscape. Names include kadaranji in Tamil and inkoy in Amharic, as well as seaside plum in English.
How it's eaten where it grows
In Tanzania, ripe fruits are peeled and squeezed in warm water, then sweetened with sugar to make a drink. The juice can also be fermented into a local brew. In South Africa, the fruit goes into a kind of beer. Beyond fresh eating, its pulp is used for juice, jam and jelly.
How it's grown
The plant is a thorny shrub or small tree, about 2–7 m (7–23 ft) tall. Its fragrant white or greenish flowers have hairy petals and attract bees. Birds and other animals eat the fruit. It withstands drought and grows in poor, dry soils; fresh seeds can start new plants.
When and where you'll find it
In Florida, tallow plum usually fruits in spring and fall. It is a wild fruit of scrub and wooded places. In Tanzania, it is usually gathered during the dry season and eaten fresh by the handful as a snack; the peeled pulp also becomes a drink.
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What it tastes like
No sweeter than a grapefruit, tarter than a kiwifruit≈
More about the taste
Tallow plum's fruit pulp is sour.
The fruit pulp is sour.
Choose, eat
1ChooseYellow or orange
Look for
- Yellow or orange
Ripe fruit is yellow or orange. Other species also go by the names wild plum and sour plum.
2EatPulp · not seed
Eat
PulpNot eaten
SeedEat the fruit pulp only. Don't chew the seed: it contains cyanogenic compounds.
Detroit, Michigan
When it’s good hereUsual monthsJust arrivedAt their bestLast chanceAll yearWhere it is in its usual monthsToday, Oct 22Grown hereIn season in your stateShips fromIn season where it grows
22 names in 7 languages
- 海檀木Chinese
- Bedara lautMalay
Strange but trueScienceWhere the name came from
If you like Tallow plum
Tastes alike
Close relatives
Used the same way
Sources
Photos · 2
Sources
Tallow plum · Fruitopia · checked Sep 22, 2026
What we don't know yet
There's disagreement about whether the kernel oil is edible, so it's best avoided until that's settled.