| Chrysophyllum cainito | ||||||||||||||
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 Chrysophyllum cainito fruit | ||||||||||||||
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| Chrysophyllum cainito L. | ||||||||||||||
Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae, native to the lowlands of Central America and the West Indies. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 m in height.
It has numerous common names including cainito, caimito, star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme de lait, estrella, and aguay. It is also known by the synonym Achras caimito.
The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple oval, entire, 5-15 cm long; the underside shines with a golden color when seen from a distance. The tiny flowers are purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell. The tree is also hermaphroditic (self-fertile).
It has round, purple-skinned fruit that is often green around the calyx, with a star pattern in the pulp. Sometimes there is a greenish-white variety of the fruit. The skin is rich in latex, and both it and the rind are not edible. The flattened seeds are light brown and hard. It bears fruit year around after it reaches about seven years of age.
The fruits are delicious as a fresh dessert fruit; it is sweet and best served chilled. The flattened seeds are light brown and hard. Infusions of the leaves have been used against diabetes and articular rheumatism. The bark is considered a tonic and stimulant, and a bark decoction is used as an antitussive. The fruit also exist in two colors, dark purple and greenish brown. The purple fruit has a more dense skin and texture while the greenish brown fruit has a thin skin and a more liquid pulp.
In Literature
The Nobel Prize-winning poet Derek Walcott immortalizes the fruit as a symbol of the Caribbean itself in his 1979 collection, The Star-Apple Kingdom.