Micropholis rugosa
(Swartz.) Pierre
Beef apple, Bull apple
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Field Museum of Natural History - Botany Department
Summary
Source: WikipediaMicropholis rugosa is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is endemic to Jamaica.
Description
A tree. It grows 17 m high. The young shoots have fine hairs. The bark becomes greyish-brown and cracked and scaly. The leaves are spaced and alternate. They are 9-17.2 cm long by 4-7.4 cm wide. They are broadly oval. The leaf stalk is 0.8-1.8 cm long. There is a slight channel in the upper surface. The flowers are of one sex. They occur in tufts of 3-10 flowers in the axils of leaves. The fruit are 3.5-6 cm long. The fruit become yellow or orange when mature. The fruit is edible. There are several seeds. They are 2-2.8 cm long. They have a hard, smooth, shiny coat.
Edible Uses
The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw.
Traditional Uses
The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in both forests and in open places on limestone between 150-900 m altitude in Jamaica.
Where It Grows
Bolivia, Caribbean, Central America, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Panama, West Indies,
Synonyms
References (5)
- Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 3243
- Fouqué, A., 1972, Espèces fruitières d'Amérique tropicale. Institut français de recherches fruitierès outre-mer (ifac) (As Sideroxylon rugosum)
- Jamaica: A country report to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Culture. 2008 (As Sideroxylon rugosum)
- 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 540
- Pennington, T.D., 1990, Sapotaceae in Flora Neotropica Monograph 52. New York Botanical Gardens. p 204
