PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Manilkara bidentata
Sapotaceae FAMILY

Manilkara bidentata

Manilkara bidentata

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

A plant of lowland moist to wet areas in the tropics and subtropics[1]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 - 4,000mm, though it has been grown in areas with up to 7,000mm[1]. It prefers a mean annual temperature within the range 16 - 31°c[1]. It is not tolerant of frost[1]. Although it grows faster in a sunny position, the plant is extremely tolerant of shade[1]. The plant is not exacting as to soil type, though it seems to dislike pure sands and to prefer moist but well-drained conditions[2]. Trees are very wind tolerant[1]. The trees grow slowly - 5 year old trees in the wild are around 4.5 metres tall[1]. Good flowering and fruiting years are usually every 3 - 4 years[1]. Except when very young, the tree cannot be coppiced[1]. Young plants quickly develop a tap root. Mature trees have a strong, moderately deep root system and are wind firm[1]. The tree grows best in Puerto Rico on alluvial plain where it may reach the age of 400 years[3].

Propagation

Seed - it has a very short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe. Germination rates can be as low as 10%, though when sown immediately up to 60% have germinated[1]. Germination is slow and irregular over a long period, with some seed germinating in the second year[1]. The seeds should be sown in moist leaves because they are not capable of emerging from the soil[1]. 'Limited success' has been achieved with bare root plantings after I year in the nursery, but if seedling are left too long in the beds, the taproot proves to b a problem[1]. Seedlings in the wild are capable of growing under heavy shade and in herbaceous cover. Average height at the end of the first year is 12 cm, and after 5 years about 4.5 metres[1]. Artificial regeneration is best attained by direct sowing of fruits or transplanting of potted seedlings Ausubo In experimental work at the Institute of Tropical Forestry, seeds were sown in nursery beds in the su and under shaded conditions. After 10 months, those in the sun were twice as tall as the shade specimens. Direct out-planting of potted seedling under heavy shade in the limestone forest on the north coast showed survival rates greater than 9 percent after 10 months. The seedlings, however were sensitive to drought. Most had wilted and yellowed after a prolonged period without rain. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Manilkara+bidentata>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Silvics of North America. Agricultural Handbook No. 654. — Burns. R.M. & Honkala. B.H. · USDA Forest Service; Washington DC. · 1990 · http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/table_of_contents.htm ↩︎A very comprehensice guide to about 200 species of timber trees of N. America, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Mainly temperate species, plus a number of tropical species. It is downloadable from the Internet.
  2. [2]Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of the Caribbean — Longwood.F.R. · USDA Forest Service; Washington, DC. · 1962 ↩︎Quite detailed information on more than 60 species of Caribbean timber trees, giving species descriptions, habitat, detailed info on the wood and some info on other uses. Available for download on the internet.
  3. [3]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  4. [4]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
  5. [5]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  6. [6]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  7. [7]Dominica Botanic Gardens — http://www.da-academy.org/trees_shrubs.html ↩︎An on-line resource, providing top quality pictures and some basic information on various plants being grown at the Botanic Gardens, often including uses and habitat.
  8. [8]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  10. [10]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.