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Pouteria lucuma
Sapotaceae FAMILY

Pouteria lucuma

Pouteria lucuma

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

A plant of higher elevations in tropical climates with medium rainfall, also growing well at lower elevations in the subtropics[1]. In the tropics it grows best at elevations from 1,500 - 3,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 21 - 27°c, but can tolerate 11 - 36°c[2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,300mm[2]. Grows best in a sunny position[2]. Succeeds in most well-drained, moderately fertile soils[2]. Tolerates moderate levels of salt in the soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 6 - 8.5[2]. Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[2]. There are some named varieties[3].

Propagation

Seed - remove it from its husk before sowing[4]. Side-grafting. Air-layering may be possible[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pouteria+lucuma>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru — Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A. · David Hunt; Sherbourne, England. · 2004 · ISBN 0 9538134 3 6 ↩︎A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Medicinal Plants of the Andes and the Amazon: The magic and medicinal flora of Northern Peru — Bussmann R.W. & Sharon D. · 2015 · ISBN 10:0-9960231-2-7 ↩︎An introduction to traditional herbalism in Peru plus brief information on the medicinal uses of