''Pouteria viridis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology)">order Ericales">family (biology)">family of flowering plants belonging to th ...

known by the common name green sapote. Other common names include red faisan, white faisan (

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

), ''zapote blanco'', ''zapote rojo'', ''zapote de castilla'', ''zapote de montana'' (

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

), ''zapote verde'', ''zapote injerto'' (Costa Rica,

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

), ''injerto verde'' (

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

), ''zapotillo calenturiento'' (Honduras), ''zapote amarillo'', ''zapote mico'', ''zapote real'' (

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

), ''chulul'' (

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

),Lim, T. K
''Pouteria viridis''.
''Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 6, Fruits''. Springer. 2013. ''yashtul'', ''mameicito'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

),Janick, J. and R. E. Paull. ''The Encyclopedia of Fruits and Nuts''. CABI. 2008. pg. 843. ''chul'' ( Mam), ''ixulul'' (

Jacalteco The Jakaltek (''Jacaltec'') language, also known as Jakalteko (''Jacalteco'') or Poptiʼ, is a Mayan languages, Mayan language from the Qʼanjobalan languages, Q’anjob’alan-chujean branch spoken by the Jakaltek people in some municipalities ...

), ''raxtulul'' ( Poqomchiʼ), ''tulul'' ( Tz’utujil), and ''sapota zalená'' (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is native to Mexico and Central America. Its natural habitat includes

tropical forests Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical forest types ...

. It occurs at higher altitudes in cool, moist regions, and it does not tolerate hot or cold conditions.

Description

This plant is a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

usually growing 12 to 24 meters tall, but known to reach 40 meters. It is

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

or evergreen. The young branches are coated in brown hairs. The leaves are borne in clusters at the ends of flowering branches and alternately arranged on non-flowering branches. They are somewhat lance-shaped with smooth edges, and measure up to 25 centimeters long by 7 wide. The undersides are hairy to woolly. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a fascicle of 2 to 5 flowers. The flower is tubular, about a centimeter long, and whitish or pinkish in color. The fruit is up to 12.5 centimeters long by 8 wide. It has a green or yellow rind, sometimes tinged reddish brown, and a brownish orange or salmon-colored flesh. The fruit contains one or two large, shiny brown seeds, each up to 5 centimeters long.

Uses

The fruit is an edible

sapote Sapote (; from ) is a term for a soft, edible fruit. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America. Species From Sapotaceae Some, ...

. The flesh is sweet and juicy. The moisture content is 68 to 70%. It can be eaten raw or made into desserts, drinks, and preserves. The seeds are edible, as well, and can be served roasted. The

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

of the tree can be made into

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

. Parts of the plant have traditional medicinal uses. The seed oil is applied to the hair to prevent hair loss. Bark extracts have been used for skin conditions, and the latex has been applied to the skin to treat

wart Warts are non-cancerous viral growths usually occurring on the hands and feet but which can also affect other locations, such as the genitals or face. One or many warts may appear. They are distinguished from cancerous tumors as they are caus ...

s and fungal infections. The bark reportedly has antitermite properties.Silva, C. A. M., et al. (2009)
Genus ''Pouteria'': Chemistry and biological activity.
''Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia'' 19(2a) 501-09. The strong, reddish wood of the tree has occasionally been used for construction and to make furniture and tools. The species is planted in

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

efforts and for

erosion control Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development, coast, coastal areas, Bank (geography), river banks and construction. Effective erosion controls handle surface runoff and are ...

Cultivation

The plant is usually grown from seed. It can also be propagated by

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...

it onto the

mamey sapote ''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is now cultivated throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as Florida and parts of South America. Its fruit ...

(''Pouteria sapota''). Grafting allows the grower to expect a crop much sooner than starting from seed. There is a very small commercial trade in green sapote, but it is more often found in the home garden or small farm.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15041654 viridis