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 t ...

. 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 ''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 Caribbea ...

'' ( sapodilla), '' Chrysophyllum cainito'' (star-apple or golden leaf tree), and ''

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, poin ...

, canistel, lúcuma'', mamey sapote). '' Vitellaria paradoxa'' (''shi'' in several languages of West Africa and ''karité'' in French; also anglicized as 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 ''Synsepalum dulcificum'' is a plant in the ''Sapotaceae'' family known for its berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin. Common names for this s ...

'' 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 fro ...

) 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 (angiosper ...

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 ...

. 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 Catedral ...

'', 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, t ...

as ''sapota'', a name now treated as a synonym of ''

'' (also formerly known by the invalid name ''Achras'').

Genera

*''

Amorphospermum ''Amorphospermum'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1870. There is only one accepted species, ''Amorphospermum antilogum'', native to Queensland, New South Wales, and Papua New Guinea. ;formerly included now ...

'' * '' Aningeria'' * '' Argania'' * '' Aubregrinia'' * ''

Aulandra ''Aulandra'' is a genus of plant in the family Sapotaceae endemic to Borneo. the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 3 species:Search for "Aulandra", * '' Aulandra beccarii'' (Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. I ...

'' * '' Autranella'' * '' Baillonella'' * ''

Boerlagella ''Planchonella'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. Named in honour of Jules Émile Planchon, it contains around 100 mainly tropical species, two of which occur in South America and about 18 in Australasia. I ...

'' Cogn. (also incl. in ''Pouteria'') * '' Breviea'' * '' Burckella'' * '' Capurodendron'' * '' Chromolucuma'' * '' Chrysophyllum'' * ''

Delpydora ''Delpydora'' is a genus of plant in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1897 . The genus is native to western and central Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cas ...

'' * ''

Diploknema ''Diploknema'' is a genus of plant in the Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1884. Diploknema is native to Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and southwestern China. ;SpeciesSearch for "Diploknema", # ''Diploknema butyracea'' - Uttarakhand, Nepa ...

'' * '' Diploon'' * '' Donella''The Plant List
/ref> * ''

Eberhardtia ''Eberhardtia'' is a genus of plant in the Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1920. ''Eberhardtia'' is native to Laos, Vietnam, and southern China. ;species # '' Eberhardtia aurata'' - Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Vietnam # '' Eberhardtia kre ...

'' * '' Ecclinusa'' * '' Elaeoluma'' * '' Englerophytum'' * '' Faucherea'' * ''

Gambeya ''Gambeya'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Sapotaceae. Its native range is Tropical Africa. It is found in the countries of Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, ...

'' * '' Gluema'' * '' Inhambanella'' * '' Isonandra'' * '' Labourdonnaisia'' * '' Labramia'' * ''

Lecomtedoxa ''Lecomtedoxa'' is a genus of plant in family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1914. Lecomtedoxa is native to tropical west-central Africa (Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ...

'' * '' Letestua'' * ''

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 Royal ...

'' * ''

Mastichodendron ''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", and ...

'' * '' Micropholis'' * '' Mimusops'' * '' Neohemsleya'' * ''

Neolemonniera ''Neolemonniera'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae first described as a genus in 1918.Heine, Hermann Heino. 1960. Kew Bulletin 14: 301 ''Neolemonniera'' is native to tropical western and west-central Africa. ;species # '' Neole ...

'' * '' Nesoluma'' * ''

Niemeyera ''Niemeyera'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1870. The entire genus is endemic to Australia (States of Queensland and New South Wales). Its closest relative is ''Pycnandra'' from New Caledonia.Swenson, U., ...

'' * '' Northia seychellana'' * '' Omphalocarpum'' * '' Palaquium'' * '' Payena'' * '' Pichonia'' * '' Planchonella'' Pierre * ''

Pleioluma ''Pleioluma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapotaceae. It includes 40 species of evergreen hermaphroditic or gynodioecious trees, reaching up to 25 meters tall. The genus ranges from the Nicobar Islands through Thailand, Malaysia ...

'' * ''

Pradosia ''Pradosia'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1872.Liais, Emmanuel. 1872. Climats Geologies, Faune et Geographie Botanique du Bresil 614 Most of the species of ''Pradosia'' are native to Central and South Am ...

'' * '' Pycnandra'' * ''

Sarcaulus ''Sarcaulus'' is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1882. ''Sarcaulus'' is native to tropical Central and South America. ;Species # '' Sarcaulus brasiliensis'' (A.DC) Eyma - from Costa Rica to Bolivia + Amapá # ...

'' * ''

Sarcosperma ''Sarcosperma'' is a genus of trees or shrubs in the family Sapotaceae. Their range is from India to southern China and Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasi ...

'' * ''

Sersalisia ''Sersalisia'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1810. In the past, ''Sersalisia'' was much larger and more widely distributed than at present. Most of the former members of the genus have been transferred to ...

'' R.Br. (also incl. in ''Pouteria'') * ''

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", and ...

'' * ''

Spiniluma ''Spiniluma'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Sapotaceae. The genus is native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and Socotra. Species , Plants of the World Online accepted two species: *''Spiniluma discolor'' (Radcl ...

'' * ''

Synsepalum ''Synsepalum'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the chicle family, Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1852. ''Synsepalum'' is native to the tropical lowlands of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous cont ...

'' * '' Tieghemella'' * '' Tridesmostemon'' * '' Tsebona'' * '' Van-royena'' Aubrév. (also incl. in ''Pouteria'') * ''

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 ''Vitellariopsis'' is a group of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1915. The genus is native to eastern and southern Africa. ;species # '' Vitellariopsis cuneata'' (Engl.) Aubrév. - Usambara Mts in Tanzania # '' Vitellar ...

'' * ''

Xantolis ''Xantolis'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1838. ''Xantolis'' is native to Asia (India to southern China to Singapore and the Philippines. ;Species References

Chrysophylloideae Sapotac ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158981 Ericales families