Pouteria campechiana

Pouteria campechiana (commonly known as the cupcake fruit, eggfruit, zapote amarillo, yellow sapote or canistel) is an evergreen tree native to, and cultivated in, southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It is cultivated in other countries, such as India, Costa Rica, Brazil, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Philippines. The edible part of the tree is its fruit, which is colloquially known as an egg fruit. The canistel grows up to 10 m (33 ft) high, and produces orange-yellow fruit up to 7 cm (3 in) long, which are edible raw. Canistel flesh is sweet, with a texture often compared to that of a hard-boiled egg yolk, hence its colloquial name "eggfruit". It is closely related to the lúcuma, mamey sapote, and abiu.

Description

A tree up to 8 m high. It can be 30 m high. It is evergreen and has an open crown. The branches are mostly horizontal. The leaves are oval but taper towards both ends. They can be 6-25 cm long by 2.5-8 cm wide. They are shiny and bright green. The leaves are clustered near the ends of the twigs. The leaf stalks can be 5-25 cm long. The small flowers grow in clusters of 2 to 5 on young wood. The flowers have a scent. The fruit is round, slightly pointed at the end, orange yellow and up to 10 cm long. The skin is thin, tough and waxy. The flesh is orange and has a musky smell. The seeds are about 2-3 cm long, dark brown and shiny. There are often 1-3 seeds per fruit.

Edible Uses

The fruit is excellent eaten raw and can also be used in cakes, pies, ice creams, and puddings. Its yellow to orange pulp is soft and mealy with a very rich, sweet flavour reminiscent of baked sweet potato. The fruit, which somewhat resembles the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, is not widely appreciated by those who prefer crispy, juicy fruits. It is highly variable in form and size, ranging from nearly round to oval or spindle-shaped, and from 7–12cm long by 5–7.5cm wide. A shrubby variety (var. palmeri) produces much smaller fruits of only 2.5cm long.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten fresh or made into icecream. The skin and seeds are removed. It is not good cooked but is used instead of pumpkin in pie. It is used in cakes, pies, custards and puddings. It is used in fruit cups, ice cream and milk shakes. It is often eaten with lemon juice. It can also be eaten with pepper and salt.

Medicinal Uses

A decoction of the astringent bark is taken as a febrifuge and applied to skin eruptions. A preparation from the seeds has been used as a remedy for ulcers.

Distribution

It is native to C and S America. It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It suits the coast in the tropics and is damaged by frost. It can grow up to 1400 m in the tropics. It will grow on fairly poor soils. It does better on fertile well drained soils. It can tolerate reasonably dry periods. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-11.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil*, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America*, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, East Africa, El Salvador, FSM, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Leeward Is., Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico*, Micronesia, Nicaragua, North America, Pacific, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Seychelles, South America, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, Venezuela, West Indies, Windward Is.,

Cultivation

Trees are normally grown from seed. Seed need to be planted fresh. Seeds germinate in 2-3 weeks. Seedlings can be planted out after one year. A spacing of 4 m is suitable. It benefits from mulching due to the shallow root system. Plants can also be grafted and grown by air-layering. A spacing of 7-8 m is suitable. Trees should be lightly pruned to give 4-5 well spaced branches.

Propagation

Remove the seed from its husk before sowing. Seeds lose viability quickly and should be germinated within a few days of removal from the fruit. If decorticated, seeds germinate within 2 weeks; otherwise germination may be delayed by 3–5 months. Seedlings grow rapidly and may begin to bear fruit in 3–6 years. Vegetative propagation is preferred to hasten bearing and reproduce the best selections. Side-veneer grafting, cleft grafting, patch budding, and air-layering are usually successful. Cuttings take a long time to root.

Other Uses

The tree produces abundant latex that has been used to adulterate chicle. The timber is fine-grained, compact, strong, and moderate to very heavy and hard, making it valued for planks and rafters in construction. The heartwood is greyish-brown to reddish-brown, blending into a lighter-coloured sapwood; darker-coloured wood is more resistant to decay.

Production

Seedlings and grafted trees grow quickly. It begins bearing at about 3-5 years old. Grafted trees produce a year or so earlier. Fruit are harvested when they develop their full yellow colour. Fruit should be clipped when mature and ripened at room temperature for 3 to 10 days. Putting a little salt on the end of the fruit stalk hastens ripening. Fruit ripen 5-6 months after flowering.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. It is only being tried out in Papua New Guinea.

Notes

There are about 150-320 Pouteria species. They grow in the tropics.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Amarillo, Boracho, Caca de nene, Caca de nino, Cahixo, Caniste, Canizte, Costiczapotl, Cucumu, Eivrucht, Fruta huevo, Gema-de-ovo, Guaicume, Guicume, Huicon, Huicumo, Jaman phol, Kanis, Kaniste, Kanisutel, Kanixte, Khema, Limoncillo, Mamee ciruela, Mamey cerera, Mamey cerilla, Mzeituni, Nochi, Pohon sawo mentega, Rata lawulu, Sapota-amarelo, Sapote amarillo, Sapote borracho, Siguapa, Ti-essa, Tiesa, Tiyesa, Toesa, Yellow sapote, Zapote amarillo, Zapote mante, Zapotillo, Zubul

References (62)

• Aiguo, C. & Zhiling, D., 2001, Managing Agricultural Resources for Biodiversity Conservation. Case Study Yunnan, Southwest China. Environment Liaison Center International. p 41 (As Lucuma nervosa)
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 82
• Ashton, M. S., et al 1997, A Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs of Sri Lanka. WHT Publications Ltd. pdf p 359
• Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 345
• Candollea 9:398. 1942

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