Manilkara zapota

Breiapfelbaum ( Manilkara zapota )

The Breiapfelbaum ( Manilkara zapota ), also sapote, sapodilla or chicle tree called, is a plant belonging to the family of Sapotengewächse ( Sapotaceae ). This species is of economic importance because its sap is used for the extraction of natural rubber. Chicle of said raw material is used inter alia for the production of chewing gum. The Sapodilla fruits mentioned are important, they are eaten as a fruit.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The Breiapfelbaum is reached, a slow-growing, long-lived, evergreen tree, the plant height usually 12 to 18 m, rarely but also up to 40 m and trunk diameter of 2 to 3.5 m. He leads a lot of white milky sap. The decorative, simple leaves are alternate in groups at the tips of the branches. The leaf stems have a length of 0.8 to 3 cm. The elliptical or oblong - elliptic to slightly ovate or vice versa vice versa lanceolate leaf blade has a length of 4 to 15 cm and a width of 1.5 to 6 cm. Both leaf pages are almost identical in color and at least glabrous in age. On the underside of the veins is usually clearly visible.

The roots spread out just below the surface, about 80 % of the roots are located at a depth of less than 75 cm. About 66 % of the moisture absorbed by the plant is taken in this area.

Flowers

The flowers appear singly in the leaf axils of 1.2 to 2.5 cm long pedicles. These are provided with a reddish-brown, tomentose pubescence, which disappears at the age somewhat. The small flowers are bell-shaped. The six standing in two circles sepals are 6-10 mm long, ovate or occasionally hairy elongated and feinfilzig. The outer sepals lose with age some of their hair, but only rarely are they completely hairless. The crown is white, 6-11 mm long, of which the corolla tube usually accounts for half to 2/3. The sepals are oblong to ovate, 1.5 to 3 mm wide, the margin is entire, irregularly serrated or toothed only at the top. Back appendage, as they occur in other species of the genus, are not formed. The staminodes are kronblattartig, however, narrow ovate - lanceolate, 3 to 4.5 mm long, the edge is jagged irregular. The stamens are 2/3 and 3/ 4 are longer than the staminodes. The ovary is covered with dense hair silky; of 4.5 to 8 mm long stylus is only hairy at the base, the tip is often toothed or lobed irregular.

Fruit and seeds

Only a small part of the flower is where fruit. Depending on the species, the climate and soil conditions may take the fruit maturity between four and ten months. The fruits are brown, mealy, elliptical or ovoid to almost spherical in shape. They have a diameter of from 5 up to 10 cm. The flesh is soft, sweet and light brown to reddish - brown. The fruit is sometimes seedless, they usually contain three to twelve seeds. The hard, brown to black seeds have a white border, are pressed flat and 16 to 24 mm long, the lateral notch extends from the base to about the middle of the seed addition.

Dissemination

As original origin an area of Mexico is believed to Costa Rica exclusively. This species is now common in Mexico and South Florida over the West Indies to northern South America. On other continents, it is widespread in tropical regions.

Commercial cultivation of trees is known from India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala and several other Central American countries.

Use

The milky sap of the plant contains 20 to 25 % of rubber, and is used as a base for chewing gum. To obtain this substance mentioned by the chicle trees are provided with a series of interconnected, semi-circular, zigzag -like incisions, from which emerges the milky sap. To prevent death of the trees, this procedure is carried out every two or three years.

The Sapodilla mentioned fruits are consumed by the inhabitants of the tropical areas of America as raw fruit. Since the use of chicle go back in chewing gum production in favor of synthetic raw materials, the plant is now cultivated primarily for their fruit.

Swell

• Will H. Backwell Jr.: Sapotaceae. In: Flora of Panama, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Volume 55, number 2, pages 145-169, 1968. .
• Michael V. Mickelbart: Sapodilla: A Potential Crop For Subtropical Climates. In: J. Janick (ed.): Progress in new crops, ASHS Press, Alexandria, USA, 1996, pages 439-446. .
• Julia F. Morton: Sapodilla, in: Fruits of climates warm. 1987, pages 393-398: Online.