Manilkara huberi

(Ducke) Chevalier

Black balata

Sapotaceae Edible: Fruit, Sap 13 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

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

Description

A large tree. It grows 50 m high. The trunk can be 2-3 m across. It has buttresses up to 2.5 m high. The young branches are dark brown and the tip has a shiny coat of resin. The bark is deeply cracked. The crown is rounded and widely spreading. The leaves are 15-23 cm long by 5-9 cm wide. They are oblong. There are 30-35 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf is pale yellow underneath. The leaf stalk is 3.5-6.5 cm long. There are 10-15 flowers in a group on branches from the one point. They are greenish-white. The fruit are 2.5-3 cm long by 2.5-2.8 cm wide. They are oval or rounded. The fruit are green or yellowish green when ripe.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw, offering a juicy, aromatic pulp with a sweet flavour. A drinkable milk exudes from the cut bark.

Traditional Uses

The milky sap is drinkable. The fruit is eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

No medicinal uses are known for this plant.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in non flooded lowland rainforest. It can be up to 700 m altitude.

Where It Grows

Amazon, Brazil*, French Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Mexico, South America, Suriname, Venezuela,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. The ripe fruit are harvested and put into plastic bags to allow them to soften. The seeds are removed and washed under running water. Fresh seed are planted. They germinate in 4-8 weeks.

Propagation

Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a well-drained seedbed in semi-shade. Germination generally takes 4–8 weeks, though germination rates are usually low.

Other Uses

The latex is a source of an inferior grade of balata in Guyana — a gum resembling rubber that is used to make gaskets, chewing gum, and similar products. The heartwood is dark red-brown with purplish shades, clearly demarcated from the 4–6cm wide band of whitish to pale brown sapwood. The wood is finely and uniformly textured, usually straight-grained, and is very hard, very heavy, tough, strong, and elastic. It is highly durable even in contact with soil, resisting fungi, dry wood borers, and termites, though susceptible to marine borers. It seasons slowly with a high risk of checking and distortion, and is poorly stable in service once dry. The wood has a fairly high blunting effect, making stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools advisable. Pre-boring is required for nailing and screwing; gluing is suitable for internal use only and requires care due to the wood's density. The timber is used for a wide range of internal and external applications including sculpture, tool handles, heavy industrial and commercial flooring, sliced veneer, stairs, furniture, shipbuilding, wood-framed houses, bridges, posts, stakes, sleepers, and heavy carpentry.

Other Information

The fruit are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are about 75 Manilkara species.

Synonyms

Manilkara huberi (Ducke) A. Chev.Mimusops huberi Ducke

Also Known As

Basra-boletri, Basra-bortri, Chupon, Macaranduba, Maparajuba, Massarunduba, Massarunduba balata, Pulgo negro, Purguo, Macaranduba, Macaranduba-balata, Macaranduba-mansa, Zapote

References (10)

Cavalcante, P.B. 1991. Frutas comestíveis da Amazônia. Edições CEJUP.
Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 380
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 520
Paz, F. S., et al, 2021, Edible Fruit Plant Species in the Amazon Forest Rely Mostly on Bees and Beetles as Pollinators. Journal of Economic Entomology, XX(XX), 2021, 1–13
Lorenzi, H., 2002, Brazilian Trees. A Guide to the Identification and Cultivation of Brazilian Native Trees. Vol. 02 Nova Odessa, SP, Instituto Plantarum p 331

Show all 10 references

Lorenzi, H., Bacher, L., Lacerda, M. & Sartori, S., 2006, Brazilian Fruits & Cultivated Exotics. Sao Paulo, Instituto Plantarum de Estuados da Flora Ltda. p 295
Pennington, T.D., 1990, Sapotaceae in Flora Neotropica Monograph 52. New York Botanical Gardens. p 80
Rev. Int. Bot. Appl. Agric. Trop. 12:276. 1932 (Standley, Trop. Woods 33:19. 1933)
Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
Van Roosmalen, M.G.M., & Garcia, O. M., 2000, Fruits of the Amazonian Forest. Part 2: Sapotaceae. Acta Amazonica 30(2): 187-290