''Manilkara huberi'', also known as masaranduba, níspero, and sapotilla, is a fruit bearing plant of the genus ''

Manilkara ''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Cari ...

'' of 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 ...

Geographical distribution

''Manilkara huberi'' is native to large parts of northern South America, Central America and the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

, at elevations below above sea level.

Description

''Manilkara huberi'' is a large tree, reaching heights of . The leaves are oblong, approximately in length, with yellow undersides. The flowers are hermaphroditic; white with 3

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The edible fruit is yellow and ovoid, in diameter, containing one seed (or occasionally two).

Uses

The fruit of the ''M. huberi'' is similar to the

sapodilla ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, chicozapote, chicoo, chicle, naseberry, nispero, or soapapple, among other names, is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. An example natural occurrence is ...

and is edible, with excellent flavor and is popular for use in

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

s. Etymologically speaking, "Sapodilla" derives 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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word "tzapotl" which refers to any sweet fruit with a soft flesh. Hence many species of ''Manilkara'' may be colloquially called "sapote" or "sapodilla" and indeed a number of unrelated fruit trees such as ''Pouteria sapota''. ''M. huberi'' produces an edible

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 ...

called ''

Chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and ...

'' that can be harvested in a manner similar to the harvesting of the latex of the

rubber tree ''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now p ...

('' Hevea brasiliensis''). The latex dries to an inelastic rubber, which is considered inferior to

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically Chemically inert, inert, resilient, electrically n ...

. The latex from ''M. huberi'' was used to make

golf ball A golf ball is a ball designed to be used in golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like golf clubs, golf bal ...

covers, along with that the better known and more widespread ''M. bidentata'' ("Balata" or "Massaranduba.") Latex products from a number of ''Manilkara'' species being interchangeably called "balata", "Gutta Balata", or more generally "Chicle." It was considered a good quality, but short-lived, cover, requiring frequent recoating or replacement. Balls with Balata coatings had a high spin rate. Yet it was popular in tournaments among professionals and low handicap players. Modern materials such as Polyurethane Elastomer and

Methacrylic Acid Methacrylic acid, abbreviated MAA, is an organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)CO2H. This colorless, viscous liquid is a carboxylic acid with an acrid unpleasant odor. It is soluble in warm water and miscible with most organic solvents. Me ...

copolymers have made Balata golf balls largely obsolete by the late 20th century, as they have much better abrasion resistance and generally lower air drag. The tree is also used for

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The wood is red and very hard, and is popular for use in furniture making, construction, and railway ties. The wood is so dense to the point that it may not float in water, and requires pre-drilling before nailing. The

specific gravity Relative density, also called specific gravity, is a dimensionless quantity defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for solids and liquids is nea ...

of ''M. huberi'' wood is between 0.85 and 0.95 g/cm³.

Synonyms

''Manilkara huberi'' is also known as: * ''Manilkara jaimiqui'' C. Wright ex Griseb.; Dubard * ''Mimusops huberi'' Ducke * ''Mimusops jaimiqui'' C. Wright ex Griseb.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1757926 huberi Plants described in 1833 Taxa named by Adolpho Ducke