támuu imɨ́ɨni species of edible caterpillar that reaches about 3cm in length [...]

Part of Speech	noun
Irregular Plural	támuu imɨ́ɨka
Literal Meaning	‘madre’ of {/sp guaba}
Root	támuu imɨ́ɨni

• • species of edible caterpillar that reaches about 3cm in length and mainly feeds on the leaves of <támuu> (‘guaba’) trees; lacking spines or stinging hairs, it is marked with lengthwise stripes of yellow, orange, red, and black, and is eaten cooked in ‘patarashca’

Related entries

• Subentry:
  • imɨ́ɨni³ ‘madre’ or ‘mother’, a being closely associated with a plant, or less commonly, some other entity, such as a geographical feature like a body of water; This being is typically understood as caring for entity with which it is associated, with the most common instance of this kind of relationship being a symbiotic one between insects and plants, as in the case of <tamɨ́ɨna imɨ́ɨni>, the ant species that lives in the trunk of the <tamɨ́ɨna> tree, attacking anything that comes into contact with it; the relationship can, however, also be a harmful one to the plant, as in the case of <náana imɨ́ɨni>, a weevil that bores holes in the trees in which it is found
  • támuu ‘guaba’, species of fruit-bearing tree often planted in and around Iquito communities; the fruits pods measure up to 50cm in length and are reminiscent of long, grooved, bean pods. The bark of the tree extrudes a thick sap that is administered orally to treat bronchitis, while the bark is used to decongest the respiratory tract by cutting it into pieces and rubbing them on the chest