A tropical fruit tree (Blighia sapida) native to West Africa but now widely cultivated in the Caribbean, producing a fruit with creamy arils that are eaten as a delicacy.
From Twi (Akan language) akee or ackee, brought to the Caribbean through the African slave trade. The word entered English through trade and colonial contact with West African peoples.
Ackee is Jamaica's national fruit, but it's actually African—it traveled across the Atlantic on slave ships and became part of Caribbean cuisine, which is why 'ackee and salt fish' is iconic Caribbean food!
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