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Sapodilla is the name applied in the United States to Achras Sapota, Linn., of the family Sapotaceae, generally considered one of the best indigenous fruits of the American tropics. The tree is commonly cultivated, as well as naturalized, on the Florida Keys, and the fruit (Fig. 3545) is offered in south Florida markets.
Botanically the sapodilla is closely related to the mamey sapote (Lucuma mammosa), the ti-es (L. nervosa) and the star-apple (Chrysophyllum Cainito), fruits which are well known in various parts of tropical America. The tree is evergreen, stately, with a dense rounded or conical crown sometimes attaining a height of 50 to 60 feet, horizontal or drooping branches, and stiff, glossy leaves thickly clustered at the ends of the young branchlets. The wood is hard and very durable, timbers in an excellent state of preservation having been found in the Mayan ruins of Yucatan. The bark contains a milky latex known commercially as chicle, which is secured by tapping the trunk, and is exported in considerable quantities from Mexico to the United States, where it forms the basis of chewing-gum. The leaves are borne upon slender petioles up to 1 inch long, the blades entire or emarginate, ovate-elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate in outline, rounded-cuneate at the base and commonly obtuse at the apex, 2 to 5 inches long, glabrous, of rich green color, the midrib prominent below. The small inconspicuous flowers are produced upon short finely pubescent pedicels in the leaf-axils toward the ends of the branchlets; the calyx is composed of six small ovate-acuminate hairy sepals, the corolla white, tubular or urceolate, lobulate at the top, the stamens six, opposite the lobules, with short flattened attenuate filaments and lanceolate-acuminate extrorse anthers; staminodes six, petaloid; style clavate, hairy at the tip, the ovary ten- to twelve-celled, each cell containing one ovule.
The fruit is very variable in form, commonly round, oval, globose-depressed, or conical, and 2 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The skin is thin, rusty brown, somewhat scurfy, giving the fruit a striking resemblance to an Irish potato. The flesh is yellowish brown, translucent, soft and melting when fully ripe, sweet and delicious, but when green containing tannin and a milky latex, so that it must not be eaten until it has become quite mellow. The seeds vary from none to ten or twelve, and are hard, black and shining, obovate, flattened, about 3/4 inch long, easily separated from the pulp.
The flavor of the sapodilla is difficult of description, likened to that of a pear by some writers, and with a peculiar character common to several sapotaceous fruits. Some of the early writers were enthusiastic in praising it, the Spanish historian, Oviedo, going so far as to call the sapodilla the best of all fruits. More recently Firminger, an Anglo-Indian horticulturist, wrote that "a more luscious, cool and agreeable fruit is not to be met with in this or perhaps any country in the world," while Descourtilz says it is "melting, and has the sweet perfumes of honey, jasmin, and lily-of-the valley." In Florida it is a general favorite, especially among residents of the keys, and in numerous other parts of tropical America it assumes considerable importance among cultivated fruits.
The tree is considered by Pittier to be indigenous in Mexico south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in Guatemala, and possibly in Salvador and northern Honduras, being especially abundant in the lowlands of Tabasco, Chiapas, and the western part of Yucatan, which are the principal centers of production of chicle gum. The common name is derived from the Nahuatl word zapotl or tzicozapotl, the latter meaning "gum zapotl" and surviving to the present day in the precise form chicozapote, by which the tree is commonly known in southern Mexico; zapotl was the name given by the Aztecs to all soft sweet fruits. In Spanish-speaking countries the sapodilla is frequently called nispero, which name properly belongs to the European medlar. In the British West Indies the name naseberry is common. In Brazil one form of the fruit is called sapoti, another sapota. The German name for the tree is Breiapfelbaum, the French sapotillier, and the Dutch mispelboom.
From its home in tropical America, the sapodilla has been carried around the globe, and though less commonly cultivated in the Orient than the papaya, it is grown in many regions, particularly in some parts of southern India, where, according to Macmillan, it thrives up to elevations of 3,000 feet, though in Ceylon it is seldom productive above 1,500 feet and succeeds best on the coast. In Ecuador its cultivation is said by Pittier to extend into the temperate belt at altitudes of more than 8,000 feet. Its culture in Florida is limited to the southern part of the state, approximately the section south of Palm Beach on the east coast and the Manatee River on the west. Mature trees have passed uninjured through temperatures of 28° F., according to Reasoner. A notable advantage of the tree for some parts of the West Indies is the fact that the branches are tough and not easily broken by hurricanes. In California it has not yet fruited, though in favored locations specimens have occasionally attained an age of several years without being injured by frost. Even in the tropics, however, the tree grows very slowly, and in California the cool winters greatly hinder its development. It seems probable that it may yet be fruited in protected foothill regions, but its culture in most parts of southern California is not practicable.
The soil best adapted to the sapodilla seems to be rich sandy loam, but it thrives almost equally well on light clay and on the shallow sandy soil, underlaid with soft limestone, which is found on the lower east coast of Florida. Even though grown under the most favorable conditions, the trees rarely come into bearing until six to eight years of age, if seedlings, and in some sections do not attain a greater ultimate height than 20 to 30 feet. They should not be set closer together than 25 to 30 feet, and require very little pruning, because of their close compact growth. As a general thing the trees bear heavily, and two crops a year are frequently produced; this, with the natural variation in season among seedling trees, results in ripe fruit being found in the markets of tropical America at nearly all times of the year.
Experiments have shown that the sapodilla can be shipped very successfully and without excessive care in packing; notwithstanding the delicate texture of the skin it keeps well, and if picked while still hard can be kept in good condition for ten days or more. Shipments have been made from the Florida Keys to New York, the fruit being placed in small baskets which hold half a dozen good-sized fruits, six of these baskets being packed in a tomato-crate. For local consumption or for shipping to short distances, the common procedure in Florida is to pull the fruits from the tree and throw them into boxes or baskets, in which they are carried to market, where the ripe ones are picked out and sold from day to day. The sapodilla is used almost exclusively as a fresh fruit, usually eaten out of hand, but is sometimes utilized in Brazil and Cuba to prepare a delicious sherbet. Little is known of its culinary possibilities. Due to its lack of acidity it is doubtful whether it will lend itself to many different uses.
The sapodilla is generally propagated by seed, but the variation among seedlings in productiveness as well as in quality, size, and shape of fruit necessitates some asexual means of propagation, if the most desirable seedling forms are to be perpetuated. Horticulturists have been as dilatory in applying vegetative propagation to the sapodilla as they have with most of the other tropical fruits, but experiments in Florida have shown that it can readily be budded, using as stocks seedlings of the same species.
Seeds, if kept dry, will retain their vitality for several years, and are easily transported through the mails to any distance. They should be planted in shallow flats of light sandy soil, covering them to the depth of 1/2 inch. In warm weather germination takes place within a month, and the young seedlings, after they have made their second leaves, can be potted off and carried along in pots for the first year or two, when they are ready to be set out in the open ground. If to be budded, they may be planted in nursery rows about 3 feet apart, 18 inches apart in the row. In south Florida, May has proved to be a favorable season for budding; in strictly tropical regions the work can probably be done at any time, provided the stock plants are in active growth. Budwood should be chosen from young branches which have begun to lose their greenish color and assume a brownish tinge, and should be carefully examined to see that the eyes are well developed. Shield-budding is the method used, the details being practically the same as with the mango; buds should be cut slightly more than an inch in length, and the wood removed if it comes out readily. After making the incision in the stock, the bud should be inserted and tied as promptly as possible, as the latex soon collects around the incision and renders it difficult to do the work properly. Waxed tape should be used for wrapping. After three or four weeks the stock may be headed back, and the wrap loosened, leaving the eye exposed so that it may start into growth.
Occasional seedlings produce fruits which are nearly or quite seedless; some produce fruits weighing more than a pound, while others do not weigh over two or three ounces; some are unusually prolific, or ripen their fruit at especially desirable times of the year. From such seedlings one should select the best for propagation, having in mind the characteristics which it is most desired to perpetuate.
The tree seems to be remarkably free from insect pests and fungous diseases, and in Florida requires very little attention. While fertilizers are not commonly employed, their judicious use will doubtless improve the size of the fruit and have a beneficial effect in those frequent instances where the tree brings to maturity so many fruits that some remain very small.
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__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
| name = ''Manilkara zapota''
| name = ''Manilkara zapota''