Manilkara zapota
Evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America, now widely cultivated in tropical regions worldwide.
Manilkara zapota, commonly known as sapodilla, sapote, chicozapote, chicle, naseberry, nispero, or soapapple, among other names, is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is a subdominant plant species in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of coastal Yucatán and is now widely cultivated in tropical regions including the Philippines, Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Caribbean.
- native_to
- Southern Mexico and Central America
- height
- Up to 30 m (98 ft) in wild; cultivated 9–15 m (30–49 ft)
- trunk_diameter
- Up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in wild; cultivated up to 50 cm (20 in)
- lifespan
- Up to one hundred years
- fruit_bearing_age
- Five to eight years from germination
- fruit_production
- Twice a year; flowering may continue year round
- known_for
- Edible fruit and chicle latex used in chewing gum
Lore & Background
Manilkara zapota is a long-lived evergreen tree that can reach over 30 meters in height in the wild, though cultivated specimens are typically between 9 and 15 meters. Its bark yields a white, gummy latex called chicle, historically used to make chewing gum. The tree is wind-resistant and bears elliptic to ovate leaves with entire margins, arranged alternately. It thrives only in warm, tropical environments and has low tolerance to drought and heat in its early years; it dies easily if temperatures drop below freezing.
Reader's Guide
The sapodilla tree is significant for its dual economic contributions: its fruit, a large berry with sweet, malty flesh, is a favorite in the tropical Americas, and its latex (chicle) is the traditional base for chewing gum. The tree is widely cultivated in Mexico, tropical Asia, and the Caribbean. Biological studies have shown that compounds from its leaves have anti-diabetic, antioxidant, and cholesterol-lowering effects in rats, while acetone extracts of its seeds exhibit antibacterial effects against Pseudomonas oleovorans and Vibrio cholerae. The tree's common names, including sapodilla and chicozapote, derive from Spanish and ultimately from the Nahuatl word tzapotl. Its fruit contains one to six hard, glossy black seeds with a hook that can catch in the throat if swallowed.
Did You Know?
- The tree's bark yields a white, gummy latex called chicle, used to make chewing gum.
- A fully ripened fruit has saggy skin and does not release chicle when picked.
- The seeds are hard, glossy, and black, resembling beans, with a hook at one end.
- Compounds from the leaves showed anti-diabetic, antioxidant, and hypocholesterolemic effects in rats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Manilkara zapota?
Manilkara zapota is an evergreen tree species originally from the warm lowlands of southern Mexico and Central America, better known to most people by common names such as sapodilla, chicozapote, or soapapple. It is the source of a sweet tropical fruit as well as the natural latex that historically supplied chewing gum.
What are Manilkara zapota's powers/role?
In the wild the tree can tower to roughly 30 metres with a trunk nearly 1.5 metres in diameter, and a single specimen may persist for close to a century. Once it reaches maturity—typically five to eight years after the seed germinates—it puts out two fruiting seasons each year, with blossoms potentially appearing in every month.
How does Manilkara zapota's story end?
A wild sapodilla tree can live close to a hundred years before its life cycle finally concludes, while cultivated specimens are usually kept to a more manageable 9–15 metres. Even near the end of its lifespan the tree may still send out new flowers, so its fruit-bearing season never truly stops.
Why is Manilkara zapota important?
Ecologically it acts as a subdominant canopy member in the Petenes mangrove ecoregion along the Yucatán coast, helping structure that coastal habitat. Agriculturally it has been adopted across the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Caribbean, and many other tropical locales, making it one of the most globally spread native Mesoamerican fruit trees.
Where does Manilkara zapota originate from?
The species is indigenous to the tropical lowlands of southern Mexico and the Central American isthmus. From that homeland it has been carried by humans to virtually every tropical zone on Earth, where it now thrives as both a wild and a garden tree.
More in Edible Fruits And Nuts 1-17
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