We encountered this as a small tree in Guaviare department , Colombia. Our guide explained that the globes contain a sticky glue that when it emerges traps insects. The insects are then consumed (like other carnivorous plants) leaving only the husk. I can't find any reference to that when searching Clusia. Has anyone heard of this i.e. a carnivores tree be it Clusia or something else?
Thank you for that. I'm quite mystified that I can't find anything related to the guide's explanation. He was proven to be very knowledgeable so I must be barking around the wrong species.
Yes, it looks like Clusia, but I can't distinguish species of those trees. Yes on the sticky glue - the black resin-like material that surrounds the ripe red seeds "was once used to caulk the seams of boats, hence its common name, 'Pitch-Apple'." That's for Clusia rosea, from ENH331/ST172: Clusia rosea: Pitch Apple. I didn't find any descriptions of dead insects, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched to think that some insects must get caught in that stuff - whether they just dry out or get consumed doesn't seem to have interested anyone posting anything about it. I did find a very extensive key for Clusia in Venezuelan Guayana - makes me very unwilling to ever guess a Clusia species name. MBG: Research: Projects: South America: Venezuelan Guayana
