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Also spelled:
akee
Related Topics:
Jamaica
fruit
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ackee
ackee Edible ackee fruits (Blighia sapida). Though native to tropical West Africa, the tree is an important food source across many areas of the Caribbean.

ackee

plant
Also known as: Blighia sapida, akee
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History
ackee
ackeeAckee fruits (Blighia sapida). The bland white aril (fleshy seed covering) of the ackee fruit is edible but is poisonous if eaten when unripe.

ackee, (Blighia sapida), tree of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to West Africa, widely cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical regions for its edible fruit. Ackee and salt fish is a popular dish in the Caribbean and is the national dish of Jamaica. Taken to the Caribbean area with enslaved people from Africa, the ackee tree was introduced to science by William Bligh (hence its botanical name), famous as captain of the ill-fated Bounty.

ackee
ackeeInterior of an ackee fruit (Blighia sapida).

The evergreen tree grows about 9 metres (30 feet) tall and bears pinnately compound leaves (leaflets form rows on either side of a common axis) and fragrant white flowers. At maturity, the reddish woody shell of the fist-sized fruits splits open to reveal three white arils (fleshy seed coverings), each with a large shiny black seed. The soft, bland arils are eaten as a vegetable, though it is toxic, even fatal, if eaten unripe.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.