Couepia polyandra

(Kunth) Rose

Sun Sapote

Chrysobalanaceae Edible: Fruit 104 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by

Summary

Couepia polyandra, also known as olosapo, zapote amarillo, baboon cap, and monkey cap, is a flowering tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae.

Description

A small tree. It grows 15 m tall. The leaves are 6-13 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. The fruit are medium sized and oval with a rough surface. The can be 5-7 cm long. The flesh is soft and there is one seed inside. The pulp is yellow, juicy and fibrous.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten. The juicy, yellow pulp is sweet but very fibrous. The flesh is soft and sweet but the pulp is semi-dry and like egg-yolk in consistency. The orange-yellow fruit is 5 - 8cm long and 3 - 4cm in diameter, containing one large seed.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten fresh.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. In Central America it grows between sea level to 900 m altitude. It can grow between sea level and 1,750 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Asia, Belize, Central America, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, North America, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, USA,

Cultivation

Requires a sunny position. Established plants are fairly drought resistant. Seedlings take about 6 years before they commence fruiting.

Production

Plants take up to 6 years to produce fruit.

Other Information

Fruit are sold in local markets. It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

There are 71 Couepia species. They are all in tropical America.

Synonyms

Couepia dodecandra (Moc. & Sesse ex DC.) Hemsl.Couepia floccosa FritschHirtella dodecandra Moc. & Sesse ex DC.and others

Also Known As

Camero, Fraile, Frailecillo, Guayabillo de tinta, Guayo, Gurupillo, Olosao, Olosapo, Olozapote, Palo fraile, Uspi, Uspiib, Uxpiib, Zapote bolo, Zapotillo amarillo

References (17)

Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 1491 (As Couepia dodecandra)
Arellanes, Y., et al, 2013, Influence of traditional markets on plant management in the Tehuacan Valley. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 9:38
Chizmar Fernandez, C., et al, 2009, Plantas comestibles de Centroamerica. Instituto de Biodiversidad, Costa Rica. p 144
Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 5:196. 1899
Coronel, R.E., 1982, Fruit Collections in the Philippines. IBPGR Newsletter p 9

Show all 17 references

Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 78
FMNH Botany Collections Database - Mesoamerican Ethnobotany emuweb.field museum.org
Gonzalez-Espinosa, M. et al, 2011, The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees. Flora and Fauna International, Cambridge. p 25
Hellmuth, N. M., 2011, Maya Ethnobotany. Complete Inventory of plants. Associacion FLAAR Mesoamerica. Tenth edition. (Also as Couepia dodecandra)
Ibarra-Manriquez, G., et al, 1997, Useful Plants of the Los Tuxtlas Rain Forest (Veracruz, Mexico): Considerations of their Market Potential. Economic Botany, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 362-376
Martin, F. W., et al, 1987, Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics. USDA Handbook 642 p 92
Piedra-Malagón, E. M. et al, 2022, Edible native plants of the Gulf of Mexico Province. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e80565 p 17
Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 107
Rollins, C. B., 1987, The Role of the Fruit & Spice Park in Popularization and Dissemination of Tropical Fruit in South Florida. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100:323-327
Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
Standley, P. C. & Record, S. J., 1936, The Forests and Flora of British Honduras. (Belize). p 149 (As Couepia dodecandra)
www.tradewindsfruit.com