genipap

The North and South American tree Genipa americana of the family Rubiaceae.

Genipap is wild and cultivated in many parts of the Amazon, especially on floodplains, from the river's mouth to the Andean foothills in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.

The fruit of this tree, oval in shape, as large as a small orange, of a pale greenish color, and with dark purple juice, traditionally used as a colorant.

Unripe genipap fruits are widely used by indigenous tribes to extract the blue pigment, exposing the inside part of the fruit to the air.