Mamey sapote is a fruit that is technically a berry, though a very large one. It belongs to botanical family, the Sapotaceae, which also includes sapodilla, abiu and canistel. It is native to Central America –Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua Puerto Rico and Mexico and is an erect, lactiferous tree with a spreading open crown, thick central trunk, often narrowly buttressed and a few large branches, growing to 12–18 m sometimes reaching 30–40 m high. Fruit is a berry, ovoid to ellipsoid in shape, 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in) long and 8 to 12 cm (3 to 4.5 in) wide, often bluntly pointed at the apex and with a persistent calyx at the base. It has sweet delicious taste and wonderful nutritional value due to which it is grown and consumed throughout the world.
| Name | Mamey Sapote |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Pouteria sapota |
| Native | Native to Central America –Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua Puerto Rico and Mexico. |
| Common/English Name | Lava Sapote, Mamey Colorado, Mamey Sapote, Mamee Apple, Mammee Sapote, Mamee Zapote, Marmalade Plum, Marmalade Tree, Red Sapote, Sapote, True Sapote, Zapotillo. |
| Name in Other Languages | Mexico : Chachaas Brazil : Mamei Panama : Mamey Vietnamese : Tru’ng Ga Jamaica : Marmalade Fruit Philippines : Chico-Mamei Columbia : Zapote De Carne Spanish : Mamey Colorado Cuba : Mamey Colorado Venezeula : Zapote French : Sapotier Nicaragua : Guaicume Guadeloupe : Sapote À Crème Indonesia : Ciko Mama Malaysia : Chico-Mamey German : Große Sapote Portuguese : Zapote De Carne Costa Rica : Mamey El Salvador : Zapote Grande Martinique : Grosse Sapote Haiti : Sapotier Jaune D’oeuf Ecuador : Mamey Colorado |
| Plant Growth Habit | Erect, lactiferous tree with a spreading open crown |
| Growing Climate | Thrives best in humid tropical or near tropical lowlands with warm temperatures |
| Soil | Well-drained soils, from heavy clays to the limestone and infertile sandy soils. It is intolerant of constantly wet or flooded soil conditions which impedes root development and enhances root rots by soil-borne fungi. |
| Plant Size | 15 to 45 meters (49 to 148 ft.) at maturity. |
| Leaf | Large, 10–30 cm by 4–10 cm wide, simple, obovate to oblanceolate, with broadly-acuminate apex, tapering base, entire margin, prominent depressed mid-rib and lateral veins, glossy green above, paler green beneath, pubescent becoming glabrous with age.
Leaves are clustered at the end of branches and borne on 2–5 cm long petioles. |
| Flower | Small, white to pale creamy white, bisexual, subsessile, pentamerous, five fertile stamens, five staminodes, one ovary, style and stigma. |
| Fruit Shape &Size | Berry, sub globose, ovoid to ellipsoid, 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in) long and 8 to 12 cm (3 to 4.5 in) wide, often bluntly pointed at the apex and with a persistent calyx at the base. |
| Fruit Color | Russet-brown |
| Fruit Weight | 0.3–2.7 kg. |
| Fruit Skin | Woody, rough, scurfy, about 1–2 mm thick. |
| Flesh Color | Deep orange, salmon-pink or reddish brown in color, smooth to finely granular in texture, aromatic, sweet, soft and firm. |
| Flavor/Aroma | Sweet, almond like, unique flavor. |
| Taste | Sweet like a combination of pumpkin, chocolate and almond or akin to a mixture of sweet potato, avocado and honey. |
| Seed | 1–4 large, 5–8 cm long, glossy-dark brown, ellipsoid, pointed seeds with a light brown hilum on the ventral side. |
| Varieties |
|
| Season | May to July but some cultivars available all year |
| Major Nutrition | Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 1.26 mg (96.92%) Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 40.2 mg (44.67%) Carbohydrate 56.18 g (43.22%) Copper, Cu 0.373 mg (41.44%) Total dietary Fiber 9.5 g (25.00%) Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 3.69 mg (24.60%) Tryptophan 0.086 g (19.55%) Iron, Fe 1.36 mg (17.00%) Potassium, K 794 mg (16.89%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 2.506 mg (15.66%) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.203 mg (15.62%) Manganese, Mn 0.357 mg (15.52%) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) 0.695 mg (13.90%) |
| Health Benefits |
|
| Calories in 1 cup (175 gm) | 217 K cal |