''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 (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

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

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern 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 wa ...

), ''zapote blanco'', ''zapote rojo'', ''zapote de castilla'', ''zapote de montana'' ( Costa Rica), ''zapote verde'', ''zapote injerto'' (Costa Rica,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de 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 ...

, Honduras), ''injerto verde'' ( Guatemala), ''zapotillo calenturiento'' (Honduras), ''zapote amarillo'', ''zapote mico'', ''zapote real'' (

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

), ''chulul'' (

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

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

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

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

Mam language Mam or MAM may refer to: Places * An Mám or Maum, a settlement in Ireland * General Servando Canales International Airport in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (IATA Code: MAM) * Isle of Mam Mayda (variously known as Maida, Mayd, Mayde, Brazir, ...

), ''ixulul'' ( Jacalteco), ''raxtulul'' ( Poqomchi' language), ''tulul'' ( Tz’utujil language), and ''sapota zalená'' ( Czech).

Distribution and habitat

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

tropical forests Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fore ...

. 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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

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 leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

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 An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

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 Nahuatl ''tzapotl'') is a term for a soft, edible fruit. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to southern Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America. It is al ...

. 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. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosper ...

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 ...

. 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 typically small, rough, hard growths that are similar in color to the rest of the skin. They typically do not result in other symptoms, except when on the bottom of the feet, where they may be painful. While they usually occur on the ...

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 (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands ( forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debat ...

efforts and for

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

Cultivation

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

grafting Grafting or graftage is a 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 rootstock. The succ ...

it onto the

mamey sapote ''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree is also cultivated in the Caribbean. Its fruit is eaten in many Latin American countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milks ...

(''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