Manilkara zapota (L.) Van Royen

Description: The sapodilla is an attractive upright, slow-growing, long-lived evergreen tree. Distinctly pyramidal when young, with age the tree may develops a crown that is dense and rounded or sometimes open and somewhat irregular in shape. The leaves are 3 to 4-1/2 inches long and 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide. They are medium green, glossy, alternate and spirally clustered at the tip of forked twigs. Flowers are small, inconspicuous and bell-like, approximately 3/8 inch in diameter. They are borne on slender stalks in the axil of the leaves. There are several flushes of flowers throughout the year. The fruit is round to egg-shape, 2 - 4 inches in diameter. The skin is brown and scruffy when ripe. The flesh varies from yellow to shades of brown and sometimes reddish-brown, and may be smooth or of a granular texture. The flavor is sweet and pleasant, ranging from a pear flavor to crunchy brown sugar. Fruits can be seedless, but usually have from 3 to 12 hard, black, shiny, flattened seeds about 3/4 inch long in the center of the fruit.¹

Uses: Chicle, the latex obtained from the bark of the tree has been used as a chewing gum base for many years.

Accession # 199800083
Source: Carol Bader - Cornell
Accession Date: 05-22-1998
Bench: 1309 - NEOA: Ground Bed 1 SW
- Currently: active - healthy
- Qty: 1 confirmed on 02-17-2023

This accession has been observed in bloom on:

EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Mexico Central / Mexico Northeast / Mexico Gulf / Mexico Northwest / Mexico Southwest / Mexico Southeast / Belize / Costa Rica / El Salvador / Guatemala / Honduras / Nicaragua / Panama / Colombia

California Rare Fruit Growers Web Site. Last accessed on Monday, 05 August, 2019.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Monday, 05 August, 2019.
WCSP (2017). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on Monday, 05 August, 2019.
Chicle at Wikipedia. Last accessed on Monday, 05 August, 2019.
Image #00 (cropped) & #01 (original) by Stephencdickson (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Last accessed on Wednesday, October 25, 2017.

data regenerated on Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:39:08 -0500 [bcm v4.0]

Plant Biodiversity Conservatory and Research Core