HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Chrysophyllum cainito'' is a
tropical tree Tropical vegetation is any vegetation in tropical latitudes. Plant life that occurs in climates that are warm year-round is in general more biologically diverse that in other latitudes. Some tropical areas may receive abundant rain the whole ye ...
of the family
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 ...
. It is native to the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
, where it was domesticated. It has spread to the
Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height.


Name

The fruit has numerous names. The common names cainito and caimito likely come from the
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
words (juice), (breast), and (sap), via Spanish. It is also called variously tar apple, star apple, purple star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme de lait, estrella, milk fruit and aguay. It is also known by the
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
''Achras cainito''. In
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, it is called (: ''milky breast''). In Sierra Leone the fruit is referred to as or Breast Milk Fruit. 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 ...
it is called meaning '' he tree withgolden leaves''. In Cambodia, this fruit is called which means ''milk fruit'' due to its milky juices inside. In Hong Kong, it is called (: ''milk fruit''), and in China, it is called (: ''golden star fruit'').


Description


Tree

The
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are
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 ...
,
alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
, simple oval, entire, 5–15 cm long; the underside shines with a golden color when seen from a distance. The tiny
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell. The tree is also hermaphroditic (self-fertile). It produces a strong odor.


Fruit

The fruit is globose and typically measures from 2 to 3 inches in diameter. When ripe, it usually has purple skin with a faint green area appearing around the calyx. A radiating star pattern is visible in the pulp. Greenish-white and yellow-fruited cultivars are sometimes available. The skin is rich in latex, and both it and the rind are not edible. The flattened
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s are light brown and hard. It is a seasonal fruit bearing tree. The fruits are used as a fresh dessert fruit; it is sweet and often served chilled. Infusions of the leaves have been used against
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
and articular
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
. The fruit has antioxidant properties. The bark is considered a tonic and stimulant, and a bark decoction is used as an antitussive. The fruit also exists in three colors, dark purple, greenish brown and yellow. The purple fruit has a denser skin and texture while the greenish brown fruit has a thin skin and a more liquid pulp; the yellow variety is less common and difficult to find. A number of closely related species, also called star apples, are grown in Africa including '' C. albidum'' and '' C. africanum''. In
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, the most famous variety is Lò Rèn milk fruit coming from Vĩnh Kim commune,
Châu Thành District Chu ( or Châu () is a Vietnamese surname. It is transliterated as Zhou (for ''Chu'') and Zhu (for ''Châu'') in Chinese, and Ju in Korean. Chau is the anglicized variation of Châu. Notable people with the surname Chu/Châu * Chu Văn An ...
,
Tiền Giang Province The term ''tiền'' ( Hán tự: 錢) is used to refer to various currency-related concepts used in Vietnamese history. The name is a cognate with the Chinese ''qián'' (錢), a unit of weight called " mace" in English. It can refer to a unit ...
.


Gallery

File:Chrysophyllum cainito0.jpg, Cainito fruit cut in half File:Star Apple (Kaimito).jpg, Freshly plucked Cainitos


References


External links


Dept. of Horticulture Purdue University


* Vietnamese name of Chrysophyllum cainito i
vú sữa
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1612679 cainito Trees of the Caribbean Trees of Central America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Edible fruits Flora without expected TNC conservation status