''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

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. ...

. The tree is also cultivated 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 ...

. Its fruit is eaten in many

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 ...

n countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milkshakes and ice cream. Some of its names in Latin American countries, such as (

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

), (

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 ...

) and (

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

), refer to the reddish colour of its flesh to distinguish it from the unrelated but similar-looking ''

Mammea americana ''Mammea americana'', commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been c ...

'', whose fruit is usually called "yellow mamey" ( es, mamey amarillo). The

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 ...

n and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

governments' research and development programs have grown mamey sapote in Australia.

Description

Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamental

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

tree that can reach a height of at maturity. It is mainly propagated by

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

, which ensures the new plant has the same characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit, as it does not grow true to seed. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed, producing fruit in 3–5 years; trees grown from seed require 7 years of growth before fruiting. In Florida, the fruit is harvested from May to July with some cultivars available all year. The fruit, technically a berry, is about long and wide and has flesh ranging in color from pink to orange to red. The brown skin has a texture somewhat between sandpaper and the fuzz on a

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

. The fruit's texture is creamy and soft, and the flavor is a mix of sweet potato, pumpkin, honey, prune, peach, apricot, cantaloupe, cherry, and almond. A mamey sapote is

ripe Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE, French for "European IP Networks") is a forum open to all parties with an interest in the technical development of the Internet. The RIPE community's objective is to ensure that the administrative and technical coo ...

when the flesh is vibrant salmon in color when a fleck of the skin is removed. The flesh should give slightly, as with an overripe

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

. The leaves are pointed at both ends, 4 to 12 inches in length, and grow in clusters at the ends of branches. The mamey sapote is related to other

sapote Sapote (from Nahuatl ''tzapotl'') is a term for a soft, edible fruit. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to southern Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America. It is al ...

s such as ''sapodilla'' (''

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 ...

''), abiu (''P. caimito''), and

canistel ''Pouteria campechiana'' (commonly known as the cupcake fruit, eggfruit, zapote amarillo or canistel) is an evergreen tree native to, and cultivated in, southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It is cultivated in other countries, ...

(''P. campechiana''), but unrelated to the black sapote (''

Diospyros digyna ''Diospyros nigra'', the black sapote, is a species of persimmon. Common names include chocolate pudding fruit, black soapapple and (in Spanish) ''zapote prieto''. The tropical fruit tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. The c ...

'') and white sapote (''

Casimiroa edulis The white sapote, scientific name ''Casimiroa edulis'', also called casimiroa and Mexican apple, and known as ''cochitzapotl'' in the Nahuatl language (meaning "sleep-sapote") is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native ...

''). File:Pouteria sapota - marmalade tree - desc-leaf cluster - from-DC1.jpg, Leaves on tree File:Pouteria sapota 02 fruit on branch.jpg, Fruit on branch File:CDC sapote2.jpg, Fruit flesh and kernel File:Mamey.jpg, Mamey at a Tepoztlan market File:Pouteria sapota 03 tree bark.jpg, Tree bark Pouteria_sapota_tree_branch_with_young_fruit.jpg, Branch with young fruit

Uses

The fruit is eaten raw or made into

milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...

smoothie A smoothie is a beverage made by puréeing ingredients in a blender. A smoothie commonly has a liquid base, such as fruit juice or milk, yogurt, ice cream or cottage cheese. Other ingredients may be added, including fruits, vegetables, non-dai ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

, and fruit bars. It can be used to produce marmalade and jelly. It can also be fried like bacon. Some beauty products use oil pressed from the seed, otherwise known as sapayul oil.

Nutrition

The fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B₆ and C, and is a good source of

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

, and

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...

. Research has identified several new

carotenoids Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, ...

from the ripe fruit.

Synonyms

References

External links

*
New Crop Resource Online Program: Sapote
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1292857

sapota ''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 ...