Puerto Rico Guamá Live Plant

Guamá and Puerto Rico's Coffee Landscape

USDA-NRCS identifies guamá (Inga laurina) among the native tree species traditionally used by coffee producers in Puerto Rico for shade. In the island's traditional coffee-growing regions, Inga trees have been planted above coffee for generations.

Inga trees can be useful in agroforestry for several reasons: their canopy moderates light and temperature for the crop below, their leaf litter contributes organic matter, and as members of the legume family they can participate in nitrogen-fixing relationships with root-zone microbes. They also add habitat complexity and integrate well with perennial tropical crops.

A note of honesty: planting one tree does not automatically fertilize everything around it or eliminate fertilizer requirements. Biological nitrogen fixation depends on appropriate root-microbe relationships and growing conditions, and any benefit to neighboring plants develops gradually within a managed system.

Look Closely at the Leaves

Guamá typically develops compound leaves with usually two pairs of smooth (glabrous), elliptic leaflets — the paired, glossy leaflets visible on the young plant in our photographs.

Between the leaflet pairs sits a small gland. These extrafloral glands can secrete nectar and attract ants — a small piece of botanical ecology that makes the tree interesting to observe up close. It is a natural trait of the species, not a pest-control guarantee.

Flowers and Pods

The white flowers of Inga carry numerous conspicuous white stamens, giving the flower clusters a soft brush or pom-pom appearance — a characteristic look across the genus.

The tree later develops legume pods containing seeds surrounded by a fleshy white edible material. Fruit and seed characteristics naturally vary from tree to tree. This listing is for the juvenile plant only; no exact pod size, pulp quantity, sweetness or fruiting age is promised.

Guamá, Guaba and Ice Cream Bean Are Not All the Same Tree

Common names in this genus overlap considerably across the Caribbean and Latin America, which is why scientific names matter. In Puerto Rico, guamá commonly refers to Inga laurina. Guaba is commonly associated with Inga vera. Inga spectabilis and Inga edulis — the latter widely called ice cream bean — are additional distinct species in the same genus.

None of these species is universally superior; they are simply different trees with different traits. If a seller or an old book lists a Puerto Rican guamá as Inga fagifolia, that is the historical name for this same Inga laurina.

Why the Name Inga fagifolia Still Appears

Accepted name: Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. Historical synonym: Inga fagifolia (L.) Willd. ex Benth.

Older books, forestry references, agricultural literature and sellers may therefore use Inga fagifolia for this same species. Knowing both names is genuinely useful when researching the plant or comparing botanical sources — the two names do not indicate two different trees.

Long-Term Culture

• Best suited to tropical and warm subtropical outdoor culture with consistent warmth.
• Acclimate gradually to stronger sun; established trees handle abundant light in warm climates.
• Maintain even moisture with good drainage — never permanently waterlogged roots.
• Use soil with useful organic matter but good aeration.
• Container culture works well while the plant is young; repot gradually as roots fill the pot.
• Transplant into the ground in frost-free climates once established, with room for a maturing tree.
• Light formative pruning helps manage form; remove damaged growth as needed.
• Feed conservatively only after the plant is established and actively growing.

A Juvenile Tree, Not a Permanent Houseplant

A 6–8 inch nursery plant is a juvenile tree. It should not be treated permanently like a small houseplant — with time it needs more root space, more light and eventually the room a tree requires.

For customers in cold climates: guamá requires protection from cold and can be maintained in a container while manageable, moved under cover when temperatures fall. We do not promise successful permanent indoor fruit production.