Spondias purpura is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico to northern Colombia and the southwest Caribbean Islands.

[2] It is commonly known as jocote, which derives from the Nahuatl word xocotl, meaning any kind of sour or acidic fruit.

[6][7][8] Jocotes were also introduced to other parts of South America and the Caribbean,[2] where they are known as ciroelo, ciriguela, ceriguela, seriguela, or siriguela, cirigüeleira, caya, ambu, imbu, or umbu (Brazil);[5] ciruela campechana (Cuba);[6] jobillo or jobo francés (Puerto Rico);[6] ajuela ciruelo (Peru); cironelle (Haiti); and maka pruim (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao).

The countries where wild populations are found include Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Urushiol is present in the sap of the tree and in small concentrations of the fruit peel; this can trigger contact dermatitis in sensitized individuals.

In Florida growth is relegated to near-tropical areas of the state, and the tree is killed or greatly harmed by cold winter temperatures from Palm Beach County northward.

They are made into a tart sauce or pickled in vinegar or lime juice and eaten with chile peppers and salt.

The ripe fruit is commonly sold in the streets in most Central American countries in plastic bags; also available are red hot pepper sauce and "alhuaishte" (very fine ground toasted pumpkin seeds).

Jocote trees have been used by the people of Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica) for thousands of years, for both food and medicinal uses.

A sap or gum from the tree is used as a glue and the same material is combined with sapote or pineapple to make a treatment for jaundice.

Jocote trees are native to the area that stretches from southern Mexico to northern Peru and parts of north-coastal Brazil.

Due to a reduction in the acreage of the tropical dry forests in Mesoamerica, native populations of the wild ancestor of S. purpurea have declined.