''Manilkara'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Sapotaceae
240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India
The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...
. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, as well as various islands in the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. A close relative is the genus ''
Pouteria
''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world. It includes the canistel ('' P. campechiana''), the mamey sapote ('' P. sapota''), and the lu ...
''.
Trees of this genus yield edible
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, useful
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, and
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
. The best-known
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
are ''
M. bidentata'' (''balatá''), ''
M. chicle'' (chicle) and ''
M. zapota'' (sapodilla).
''M. hexandra'' is the
floral emblem
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
of
Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, where it is known as ''rayan''.
''M. obovata'' shares the vernacular name of African pear with another completely different species, ''
Dacryodes edulis
''Dacryodes edulis'' is a fruit tree native to Africa, sometimes called safou ( Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), plum (Cameroon), atanga ( Equatorial Guinea and Gabon), ube (Nigeria), African pear, bush pear, ...
'', and neither should be confused with ''
Baillonella toxisperma'', known by the very similar name, African pearwood.
The generic name, ''Manilkara'', is derived from ''manil-kara'', a vernacular name for ''
M. kauki'' in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
.
''Manilkara'' trees are often significant, or even dominant species in their native
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s, such as
East Deccan dry evergreen forests
The East Deccan dry evergreen forests is an ecoregion of southeastern India. The ecoregion includes the coastal region behind the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal, between the Eastern Ghats and the sea. It covers eastern Tamil Nadu, part ...
,
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
n
premontane tropical wet forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...
s, or together with ''
Cynometra
''Cynometra'' is genus of tropical forest trees with a pantropical distribution. It is particularly important as a forest component in west Africa and the neotropics. ''Cynometra alexandri'' (muhimbi) is a familiar timber tree of central and eas ...
'', in the
Arabuko Sokoke National Park
The Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve is located on the coast of Kenya, 110 km north of Mombasa and is protected as a national Forest Reserve. The Arabuko Sokoke National Park, situated at the north-western edge of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserv ...
.
''Manilkara'' fruit are an important food item for various
frugivore
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
s, in particular
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s. The
red fruit bat
The red fruit bat or red fig-eating bat (''Stenoderma rufum'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae, in the monotypic genus ''Stenoderma''.Gannon, M.R., Rodríguez-Durán, M., Kurta, A., and Willig, M.R. Stenoderma rufum Desmarest, R ...
(''Stenoderma rufum'') is the primary – and possibly the only –
seed disperser
In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant.
Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...
of ''M. bidentata'' in parts of the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. ''
Tuckerella xiamenensis'', a species of
peacock mite
The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders.
The peaco ...
, was described from a sapodilla tree.
Several species are endangered due to
overexploitation
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...
and
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
.
''M. gonavensis'' of
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and
''M. spectabilis'' of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
are almost
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
.
Species
Species accepted by the
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
as of December 2022:
*''
Manilkara adolfi-friederici''
*''
Manilkara bequaertii''
*''
Manilkara bidentata
''Manilkara bidentata'' is a species of ''Manilkara'' native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Common names include bulletwood, balatá, ausubo, massaranduba, quinilla, and (ambiguously) " cow-tree".
D ...
''
*''
Manilkara boivinii''
*''
Manilkara bolivarensis
''Manilkara bolivarensis'' is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Venezuela.
References
Manilkara, bolivarensis
Plants described in 1990
Vulnerable plants
Flora of Venezuela
Taxonomy articles created b ...
''
*''
Manilkara butugi
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara capuronii''
*''
Manilkara casteelsii''
*''
Manilkara cavalcantei''
*''
Manilkara celebica''
*''
Manilkara chicle
''Manilkara chicle'' is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia. It yields a natural gum known as chicle, traditionally used in making chewing gum a ...
''
*''
Manilkara concolor''
*''
Manilkara dardanoi''
*''
Manilkara dawei''
*''
Manilkara decrescens''
*''
Manilkara discolor
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. ...
''
*''
Manilkara dissecta
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. ...
''
*''
Manilkara doeringii''
*''
Manilkara dukensis''
*''
Manilkara elata''
*''
Manilkara excelsa''
*''
Manilkara excisa''
*''
Manilkara fasciculata
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara fischeri''
*''
Manilkara fouilloyana''
*''
Manilkara frondosa''
*''
Manilkara gonavensis''
*''
Manilkara hexandra
''Manilkara hexandra'' is a tree species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the family Sapotaceae. It is native to much of south Asia (China: Hainan and southern Guangxi provinces; the Indian subcontinent: Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China: C ...
''
*''
Manilkara hoshinoi
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara huberi
''Manilkara huberi'', also known as masaranduba, níspero, and sapotilla, is a fruit bearing plant of the genus ''Manilkara'' of the family Sapotaceae.
Geographical distribution
''Manilkara huberi'' is native to large parts of northern South Ame ...
''
*''
Manilkara ilendensis''
*''
Manilkara inundata
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. ...
''
*''
Manilkara jaimiqui''
*''
Manilkara kanosiensis
''Manilkara kanosiensis'' (commonly known as torem or sawai''Note: English translations for this reference are shown in braces.'') is a species of tree in the sapodilla family. It is thinly dispersed in low-lying rainforests over a large range, ...
''
*''
Manilkara kauki
''Manilkara kauki'' is a plant in the subfamily Sapotoideae, and the tribe Sapoteae of the family Sapotaceae; and is the type species for the genus ''Manilkara''. It occurs in tropical Asia from Indo-China (Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet ...
''
*''
Manilkara koechlinii''
*''
Manilkara kribensis
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara kurziana''
*''
Manilkara letestui''
*''
Manilkara letouzeyi''
*''
Manilkara littoralis''
*''
Manilkara longifolia
''Manilkara longifolia'', commonly known as masseranduba, is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is endemic to Brazil, where it is threatened by habitat loss.
References
External links
Picture: wood, cross section, as ''Mimusops l ...
''
*''
Manilkara longistyla
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara lososiana
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara mabokeensis''
*''
Manilkara maxima''
*''
Manilkara mayarensis
''Manilkara mayarensis'' is a plant species in the family of sapodillas, which grows wild only in Cuba's Oriente Province. Here its members range in scale from shrubs to small trees. Its usual haunts are along creeks, ravines and other natura ...
''
*''
Manilkara microphylla''
*''
Manilkara mochisia''
*''
Manilkara multifida''
*''
Manilkara nicholsonii''
*''
Manilkara obovata
''Manilkara obovata'' is small to large sized evergreen tree within the Sapotaceae family. Its timber is sold under the name Nkunya in Uganda. The species has a wide distribution from Sierra Leone in West Africa moving east to Uganda in Eastern Af ...
''
*''
Manilkara paraensis''
*''
Manilkara pellegriniana''
*''
Manilkara perrieri''
*''
Manilkara pleeana''
*''
Manilkara pobeguinii''
*''
Manilkara pubicarpa''
*''
Manilkara roxburghiana''
*''
Manilkara rufula''
*''
Manilkara sahafarensis''
*''
Manilkara salzmannii''
*''
Manilkara samoensis''
*''
Manilkara sansibarensis
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara seretii''
*''
Manilkara sideroxylon''
*''
Manilkara smithiana''
*''
Manilkara spectabilis''
*''
Manilkara staminodella
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara suarezensis''
*''
Manilkara subsericea''
*''
Manilkara sulcata''
*''
Manilkara sylvestris
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. ...
''
*''
Manilkara triflora''
*''
Manilkara udoido''
*''
Manilkara valenzuelana''
*''
Manilkara vitiensis
''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A ...
''
*''
Manilkara zapota
''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...
''
*''
Manilkara zenkeri''
References
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q309947
Sapotaceae genera