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 evergreen trees and shrubs in around 65 genera (35-75, depending on generic definition). Their distribution is
pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and '' Bacopa''.
''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic te ...
.
Many species produce edible fruits, or white blood-sap that is used to cleanse dirt, organically and manually, while others have other economic uses. Species noted for their edible fruits include '' Manilkara'' (
sapodilla
''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...
Pouteria
''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world. It includes the canistel ('' P. campechiana''), the mamey sapote ('' P. sapota''), and the l ...
'' (''
abiu
''Pouteria caimito'', the abiu (), is a tropical fruit tree originated in the Amazonian region of South America. It grows to an average of high, and can grow as high as under good conditions. Its fruits' shape varies from round to oval, poi ...
Vitellaria paradoxa
''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',shea) is also the source of an oil-rich nut, the source of edible
shea butter
Shea butter (, , or ; ) is a fat extracted from yellow the nut of the African shea tree (''Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a ...
, which is the major lipid source for many African ethnic groups and is also used in traditional and Western cosmetics and medications. The "miracle fruit" '' Synsepalum dulcificum'' is also placed in the Sapotaceae.
Trees of the genus '' Palaquium'' (
gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus '' Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly fr ...
) produce an important
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 (angiosperms ...
with a wide variety of uses. The seeds of the tree '' Argania spinosa'' produce an edible oil, traditionally harvested in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
.
The family name is derived from ''
zapote
Zapote the fifth district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the administrative units surrounding San José downtown (officially composed of the districts of El Carmen, Merced, Hospital and Catedra ...
'', a Mexican vernacular name for one of the plants (in turn derived from the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
''tzapotl'') and Latinised by
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
as ''sapota'', a name now treated as a synonym of '' Manilkara'' (also formerly known by the invalid name ''Achras'').
Argania
''Argania'' (Tashelhit: ⴰⵔⴳⴰⵏ ''Argan'') is a genus of flowering plants containing the sole species ''Argania spinosa'', known as argan, a tree endemic to the calcareous semidesert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco and to the regio ...
Baillonella
''Baillonella toxisperma'' (also called African pearwood, djave nut, or moabi) is a species of tree in the family Sapotaceae, and the only species in the genus ''Baillonella''. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Dem ...
Capurodendron
''Capurodendron'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described by André Aubréville
André Aubréville (30 November 1897, in Pont-Saint-Vincent (Meurthe-et-Moselle) – 11 August 1982, in Paris) was a French botanist, professor a ...
Chrysophyllum
''Chrysophyllum'' is a group of trees in the Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.
The genus is native to tropical regions throughout the world, with the greatest number of species in northern South America. One species, '' C. ol ...
Faucherea
''Faucherea'' is a group of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1920.
The entire genus is endemic to Madagascar.Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Pennington, D. (2001 publ. 2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae: ...
Inhambanella
''Inhambanella'' is a group of trees in the Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1915.Dubard, Marcel Marie Maurice. 1915. Annales du Musée Colonial de Marseille, sér. 3, 3: 43
The genus is native to Africa.
;Species
#'' Inhambanella guereensi ...
''
* ''
Isonandra
''Isonandra'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae found in tropical Asia, described as a genus in 1840.
''Isonandra'' is native to India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in ...
''
* ''
Labourdonnaisia
''Labourdonnaisia'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae found in tropical Asia, described as a genus in 1841.
''Labourdonnaisia'' is native to certain islands in the Indian Ocean ( Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion).
The genus is nam ...
''
* ''
Labramia
''Labramia'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1844. De Candolle initially named the genus ''Delastrea'', which is a homonym for an older fungus name by Tulasne, so De Candolle changed the name to ''Labramia'' ...
Letestua
''Letestua'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae, described as a genus in 1917.
The genus name of ''Letestua'' is in honour of Georges Marie Patrice Charles Le Testu (1877–1967), who was a French colonial administrator i ...
''
* ''
Madhuca
''Madhuca'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae first described as a genus in 1791.Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Pennington, D. (2001 publ. 2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae: 1-364. The Board of Trustees of the Roya ...
Mimusops
''Mimusops'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Sw ...
''
* ''
Neohemsleya
''Neohemsleya'' is a genus of plant in family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1991.
There is only one known species, ''Neohemsleya usambarensis'', endemic to the Usambara Mountains
The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tr ...
Pouteria
''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world. It includes the canistel ('' P. campechiana''), the mamey sapote ('' P. sapota''), and the l ...
Sideroxylon
''Sideroxylon'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning " iron ...
Tieghemella
''Tieghemella'' is a genus of the plant family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1890. The wood of ''Tieghemella'' species is known as makore in the lumber trade.
''Tieghemella'' is native to western and central Africa.
;Species
# '' Tieghemel ...
Vitellaria
''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',Vitellariopsis''
* '' Xantolis''
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