Inga ruiziana

Inga ruiziana is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree in the Fabaceae (subfamily Mimosoideae) native to lowland and lower montane rainforests of the western Amazon basin and the eastern Andean foothills of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia. Plants reach 5 to 15 metres in height with a spreading, often somewhat layered crown and pubescent young branches. The alternate, paripinnate leaves bear 2 to 4 pairs of asymmetrically elliptic to oblong, softly pubescent leaflets along a rachis with conspicuous interfoliar nectaries between pairs and a narrowly winged margin characteristic of the genus. Cylindrical spikes of fragrant, creamy white flowers display long, exserted, brush-like stamens that are the showy part of the flower. The fruit is an elongate, somewhat curved, longitudinally ribbed pod 10 to 20 centimetres long that splits to reveal black seeds embedded in a sweet, edible white aril (pacay). The species is widely cultivated for its edible arils and as a shade tree for cacao and coffee.