Don't want to see ads? Sign up...




Anisocapparis speciosa

Anisocapparis speciosa

Griseb
Sacha Limón

Family: Capparaceae
Order: Caryophyllales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

 Request change

Other common names: Amarguillo, Sacha Naranja.

Synonyms: Capparis malmeana, Capparis pruinosa, Capparis speciosa.





Filters




Description


Morisonia speciosa, commonly known as , is a species of tree in the family Capparaceae. It is native to the Gran Chaco region of Bolivia, Paraguay, western Brazil, and northern Argentina. It was formerly known under the scientific names Anisocapparis speciosa and Capparis speciosa. The fruit, seeds, and flowers of Morisonia speciosa are edible. The fruit is very sweet and has a spicy flavor reminiscent of mangoes. The Toba and Wichí peoples traditionally use it both culinarily and medicinally.

Taxon and naming: Morisonia speciosa was first described in scientific literature by August Grisebach as Capparis speciosa as published in Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen in 1879. It was transferred from the genus Capparis to the monotypic genus Anisocapparis following a description by Xavier Cornejo and Hugh Iltis published in a 2008 paper. It was renamed Morisonia speciosa in 2018.

Morisonia speciosa is commonly known as bola verde. Other common names for the species include amarguillo, anquitsuk, ancocha, palo verde, payaguá naranja, sacha limón, and sacha naranja. The fruit is referred to as atsaj by the Wichí and neloma by the Qomle´ec (Toba) and in Pilagá.

Distribution: Morisonia speciosa is native to the Gran Chaco region and can be found in Bolivia, Paraguay, western Brazil, and northern Argentina. It grows in tropical dry broadleaf forests, sometimes co-occurring with carob trees.

 Morisonia speciosa is a tree or shrub that is in height. It has a dense crown and foliage, with fine, tortuous branches and smooth, thornless, dark green bark. Its elliptic, green leaves are simple and alternate, ranging from in length and in width. The margins of the leaves are simple, with a prominent midrib on the underside, and often notched at the tip, with a small mucron or spine.

Morisonia speciosa has flowers with anisosepalous calyces which are distinctively decussate-imbricate. The floral nectaries have four dimorphic scales. The pollen grains have a fine reticulate surface. The yellowish flowers infloresce solitarily, reaching in length.

The fruit of Morisonia speciosa are green spherical berries with a shiny exterior. They are in diameter and hang from long peduncles. They contain a yellow-orange pulp and four to eight dark, subglobose seeds which are strongly anisocotylary. They have a compact major cotyledon and a reduced or suppressed minor cotyledon.

Human use: The fruit, seeds, and flowers of Morisonia speciosa are edible. The yellowish pulp of the fruit is very sweet and has a spicy flavor reminiscent of mangoes. It is a significant source of dietary fiber, vitamin C and magnesium. The seeds and pulp have naturally occurring antioxidants.

The Toba and Wichí peoples have traditionally used Morisonia speciosa for culinary and medicinal purposes. The fruits are ripe when they fall from the tree. Preservation of the fruit can be done through sun-drying, and underripe fruit may be cooked. Preparation of the seeds involves boiling them and drying them in the sun. They are then crushed and made into flour or a puree that is often combined with oil or fat. The flowers of Morisonia speciosa have a bitter taste that can be removed by boiling.

Traditional medicinal uses for Morisonia speciosa include treatments for toothaches, as an antidysenteric, and against "cold stomach". The bark of Morisonia speciosa is ground and used in folk veterinary medicine for wound healing and as a treatment for skin myiasis. The fruit has been known to be used for fishing bait and the leaves have been used to dye chaguar fibers.

Fruits of the plant are also eaten by gray brockets.

Source: Wikipedia, article Anisocapparis speciosa. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 18/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


Loading map...




Species photographs

Count: 2



 Add a photography of this species






Species vocalizations

Last vocalizations published



 Add an audio of this species





Species videos

Last filmings published




 Add a film of this species





Species reports



 Detail of places sorted by number of records






Species records

Count: 3



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
236857118/09/2025ArgentinaFormosaLas Lomitas, Departamento PatiñoHugo Alberto Valderrey
167269309/10/2022ArgentinaSantiago del EsteroSeccional El Aybal, Parque Nacional CopoDiego Carus
165575809/10/2022ArgentinaSantiago del EsteroSeccional El Aybal, Parque Nacional CopoMaria Belén Dri
Page 1 of 1

 Add a record of this species

📖
Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Anisocapparis speciosa – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.