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Manilkara zapota
Sapotaceae FAMILY

Manilkara zapota

Manilkara zapota

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Older leaves contain a poisonous alkaloid[1]. Seeds contain hydrocyanic acid and should be removed before eating the fruit[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Sapodilla can grow well in a wide range of climatic conditions from the wet tropics to dry cool subtropical areas; but they prefer a moist hot climate similar to that found at medium to low elevations, usually below 600 metres, in tropical areas, such as in coastal regions[2]. Commercial crops can be obtained at elevations up to 900 metres in the tropics, with the tree producing at least some fruit up to 2,500 metres[3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 34°c, but can tolerate 11 - 42°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive very short-lived temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 400 - 2,000mm[3]. Fruiting is not adversely affected by heavy rainfall[2]. Grows best in full sun[2]. An undemanding plant, it is one of the few fruit trees to thrive in the poor, wind-swept low-lying coral islands of the West Indies, though it grows better given fertile conditions[4]. Grows well in calcareous soils[5]. Dislikes heavy clay soils[5]. Prefers a well-drained soil[6]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5.5 - 8.5[3]. Established plants are drought resistant, they also resist strong winds and moderate levels of salt in the soil[6, 4, 3]. The tree has a main fruiting period, but some flowers and fruits are produced throughout the year[2, 5]. Fruits take about 4 months to mature[2]. Seedlings may take 5 - 8 years to bear fruit, while grafted varieties take only 2 - 3 years from planting out[2]. Trees reach their maximum cropping at around the age of 30 years[3]. A good tree may yield up to 2,500 - 3,000 fruits per year, or about 250 - 300 kilos[3]. Annual yields per ha of 20 - 30 tonnes have been reported in Florida, 20 - 25 tonnes in the Philippines and 20 - 80 tonnes in India[3]. There are some named varieties[7].

Propagation

Seeds germinate after about 30 days without any treatment and with up to 80% success rate[2]. Cuttings Air-layering of 2-year-old branches, 45 - 60cm long, 1 cm in diameter and suitably leafy[2]. Grafting. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Manilkara+zapota>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Edible Leaves of the Tropics — Martin. F. W.; Ruberte. R. M. & Meitzner. L. S. · Echo. USA. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9653360-1-8 ↩︎A terse guide, giving reasonable detail on the more common leaf crops and brief information on a wide range of lesser known plants.
  2. [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  5. [5]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  8. [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  9. [9]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
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/