Pouteria sapota

{{About|the fruit also known as red mamey|the yellow mamey|Mammea americana}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Mamey sapote

| image = ARS- Pouteria sapota.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn | author1 = Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) | author2 = IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group | name-list-style = amp | title = Pouteria sapota | page = e.T150102002A150108560 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T150102002A150108560.en | year = 2021 | access-date = 25 March 2022}}

| genus = Pouteria

| species = sapota

| authority = (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn

| synonyms = See text

| synonyms_ref = {{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-164426|title=The Plant List}}

}}

{{nutritional value

| name = Sapote, mamey, raw

| protein = 1.45 g

| fat = 0.46 g

| carbs = 32.1 g

| fiber = 5.4 g

| sugars = 20.14 g

| calcium_mg = 18

| iron_mg = 0.78

| magnesium_mg = 11

| phosphorus_mg = 26

| potassium_mg = 454

| sodium_mg = 7

| zinc_mg = 0.19

| manganese_mg = 0.204

| vitC_mg = 23

| thiamin_mg = 0.013

| riboflavin_mg = 0.116

| niacin_mg = 1.432

| pantothenic_mg = 0.397

| vitB6_mg = 0.72

| folate_ug = 7

| vitE_mg = 2.11

| source_usda = 1

| note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167760/nutrients&format=Full Link to USDA Database entry]

| kJ = 520

}}

Pouteria sapota, the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is now cultivated throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as Florida and parts of South America. Its fruit is eaten raw in many Latin American countries, and is added to smoothies, milkshakes, ice cream, and other foods.

Some of its names in Latin American countries, such as {{lang|es-CU|mamey colorado}} (Cuba), {{lang|es-CR|zapote colorado}} (Costa Rica) and {{lang|es|zapote rojo}} (South America), refer to the reddish colour of its flesh to distinguish it from the unrelated but similar-looking Mammea americana, whose fruit is usually called "yellow mamey" ({{langx|es|mamey amarillo}}).{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Description

Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamental evergreen tree that can reach a height of {{convert|15|to|45|m|ft|abbr=on}} at maturity.[https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/sapote_ars.html Morton, Julia 1987. Sapote. p. 398–402. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.] at Center for New Crops & Plant Products, at Purdue University

The fruit, botanically a berry,[http://www.cooksinfo.com/mamey-sapote Mamey Sapote - CooksInfo.com] is about {{convert|10|to|25|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|8|to|12|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} wide and has flesh ranging in color from pink to orange to red. The brown skin has a texture somewhat between sandpaper and the fuzz on a peach.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVIE58RMjeo The Tropical Fruit Growers present - Mamey Sapote] The fruit's texture is creamy and soft, and the flavor is a mix of sweet potato, pumpkin, honey, prune, peach, apricot, cantaloupe, cherry, and almond.{{Cite web |url=http://www.capetrib.com.au/mamey.htm |title=Mamey Sapote Exotic Tropical Fruit - Cape Tribulation |access-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113213357/http://www.capetrib.com.au/mamey.htm |archive-date=2016-11-13 |url-status=dead }}[https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottbeyer/2015/07/14/mamey-a-tropical-miami-fruit-that-should-become-mainstream/ Mamey – A Tropical Miami Fruit That Should Become Mainstream - Forbes]{{Cite web |url=http://www.localharvest.org/mamey-sapote-C13452 |title=Mamey Sapote - LocalHarvest |access-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222165253/https://www.localharvest.org/mamey-sapote-C13452 |archive-date=2018-02-22 |url-status=dead }} A mamey sapote is ripe when the flesh is vibrant salmon in color when a fleck of the skin is removed.[http://costarica.com/blog/fruit-of-the-month-mamey-sapote/ Fruit of the Month: Mamey Sapote] The flesh should give slightly, as with an overripe avocado. The leaves are pointed at both ends, 4 to 12 inches in length, and grow in clusters at the ends of branches.[http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/archive/introducing-mamey Introducing the mamey | Alain Dubernard | Restaurant Business]

The mamey sapote is related to other sapotes such as sapodilla (Manilkara zapota), abiu (P. caimito), and canistel (P. campechiana), but unrelated to the black sapote (Diospyros digyna)[http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/homegarden/article/Good-Enough-To-Eatgood-Enough-To-Eat-Soft-1230402.php Good Enough To Eat: Soft fruits: The names and tastes vary - Seattle Post-Intelligencer] and white sapote (Casimiroa edulis).{{cite book|last=Boning|first=Charles R.|title=Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines|year=2006|publisher=Pineapple Press, Inc.|location=Sarasota, Florida|isbn=978-1561643721|page=139}}[https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi054 Florida Crop/Pest Management Profile: Mamey Sapote and Sapodilla][http://www.fruitipedia.com/mamey_sapote%20Pouteria%20sapote.htm MAMEY SAPOTE (Pouteria sapote) - fruitipedia]

File:Pouteria sapota - marmalade tree - desc-leaf cluster - from-DC1.jpg|Leaves on tree

File:Pouteria sapota 02 fruit on branch.jpg|Fruit on branch

File:CDC sapote2.jpg|Fruit flesh and kernel

File:Mamey.jpg|Mamey at a Tepoztlan market

File:Pouteria sapota 03 tree bark.jpg|Tree bark

Pouteria_sapota_tree_branch_with_young_fruit.jpg|Branch with young fruit

Distribution

The native range probably extends from the southern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, and Chiapas through Nicaragua, Belize, and northern Honduras.Ricker. 2001. Manejo y evaluación económica de una especie arbórea de la selva tropical: El Mamey (Pouteria sapota). En: B. Rendón Aguilar, S. Rebollar Domínguez, J. Caballero Nieto y M. A. Martínez Alfaro (eds). Plantas, Cultura y Sociedad. Estudio sobre la relación entre seres humanos y plantas en los albores del siglo XXI. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. México. pp. 287-307. This is uncertain, however, because the tree was already widely cultivated in the tropical Americas prior to European colonization.Cordero J. y Boshier D.H. 2003. Árboles de Centroamérica un Manual para extensionistas. Oxford Forestry Institute (OFI). Centro Agronómico, Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). Pp. 1079. Today, it is cultivated in most Mexican states, many Caribbean islands, and tropical continental America from Florida to Brazil. The first record of cultivation in south Florida dates to the 1880s.{{cite web | title=FC30/MG331: Mamey Sapote Growing in the Florida Home Landscape | website=Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS | date=2024-11-18 | url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/MG331 | access-date=2025-04-02}} It has also been introduced to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.Oyen, L. P. A. 1991. Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn. Páginas 259-262 en E. W. M. Verheij y R. E. Coronel, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia 2: Edible Fruits and Nuts, Pudoc-DLO, Wageningen, Países Bajos.

Cultivation

It prefers smooth sandy, deep, clay and fertile soils, with pH of 5.5 to 6.5. The species does not tolerate low temperatures, prolonged periods of drought, or soils with bad drainage or where the water table is very high.

It is mainly propagated by grafting, which ensures the new plant has the same characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit, as it does not grow true to seed. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed, producing fruit in 3–5 years; trees grown from seed require 7 years of growth before fruiting.[http://rfcarchives.org.au/Next/Fruits/MameySapote/MameyGreenSapote1-89.htm CULTIVATION OF MAMEY SAPOTE AND GREEN SAPOTE - The Rare Fruit Council of Australia] Seeds lose viability within a month of harvest, so should be sown immediately.

Pouteria sapota trees are quite productive fruiters. A typical mature tree may produce 200-500 fruits per year, while vigorous established trees may produce more than twice this amount. The 2017 production average for Mexican growers was 12.4 tons/hectare.{{cite web | title=Vista de Producción y comercialización del mamey Alpoyeca, Guerrero: opinión de productores | website=Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas | url=https://cienciasagricolas.inifap.gob.mx/index.php/agricolas/article/view/2086/3216 | language=es | access-date=2025-04-02}}

In Florida, the fruit is harvested from May to July with some cultivars available all year.{{Cite web |url=http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Marketing-and-Development/Consumer-Resources/Buy-Fresh-From-Florida/Crops-in-Season/Mamey-Sapote |title=Mamey Sapote - Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services |access-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119035404/http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Marketing-and-Development/Consumer-Resources/Buy-Fresh-From-Florida/Crops-in-Season/Mamey-Sapote |archive-date=2017-11-19 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.melissas.com/Mamey-Sapote-p/1427.htm Mamey Sapote - Melissa's Produce]

=Pests and diseases=

Pouteria sapota is not often troubled by significant insect damage. The Cuban May beetle (Phyllophaga bruneri) and the sugarcane rootstalk borer (Diaprepes abbreviatus), along with various species of scale and spider mites are known to attack the plant, but rarely is the infestation significant.

Oviposition by fruit flies onto the fruit can cause damage to the pulp. The most important species in this respect is Anastrepha serpentine, known as the sapote fly, specializing in Sapotaceae plants.

Uses

The fruit is eaten raw or made into milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream, and {{lang|es|paletas}}. It can be used to produce marmalade and jelly.{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/BF02574575|title=Sapote (mammy apple) seed and oil|year=1931|last1=Jamieson|first1=G. S.|last2=McKinney|first2=R. S.|journal=Oil & Fat Industries|volume=8|issue=7|pages=255–256|s2cid=101373525}} Some beauty products use oil pressed from the seed,{{cite web |url = http://www.prweb.com/releases/emerald-forest/paraben-free201101/prweb4955554.htm

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110124064527/http://www.prweb.com/releases/emerald-forest/paraben-free201101/prweb4955554.htm

|url-status = dead

|archive-date = January 24, 2011

|title = Emerald Forest® Botanical Hair Care With Rainforest Sapayul Commits to More Natural Products With Introduction of Paraben Free Shampoos And Conditioners

|author = Molly Chadwick

|date = 11 January 2011

|publisher = PRWEB

|location = Encinitas, CA

|access-date = 29 August 2014

|quote = Sapayul oil comes from the seeds of sapote, a fruit indigenous to the Central American rainforests and an ancient Mayan secret for beautiful, soft, and shiny hair.

}} otherwise known as sapayul oil.{{cite web

|url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/anitagrant/322190060/

|title = Organic Sapote Seed Oil (inci: Pouteria Sapota, Zapote, Mamey Sapote, Zapayul, Sapayul)

|author = Anita Grant

|date = 14 December 2006

|work = anitagrant.com's photostream

|publisher = Flickr

|access-date = 25 August 2011

|quote = Organic Sapote Seed Oil (inci: Pouteria Sapota, Zapote, Mamey Sapote, Zapayul, Sapayul)
The seed is used on the Caribbean island of Grenada as a flavoring for cakes.

}}

=Nutrition=

File:Sok od mameya.jpg]]

The fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B₆ and C, and is a good source of riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, manganese, potassium, and dietary fiber. Research has identified several new carotenoids from the ripe fruit.{{cite journal|vauthors=Murillo E, McLean R, Britton G, Agócs A, Nagy V, Deli J | title = Sapotexanthin, an A-provitamin carotenoid from red mamey (Pouteria sapota). | journal = J Nat Prod | volume = 74 | issue = 2 | pages = 283–5 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21214217 | doi = 10.1021/np1006982}}{{cite journal|vauthors=Gulyás-Fekete G, Murillo E, Kurtán T, Papp T, Illyés TZ, Drahos L, Visy J, Agócs A, Turcsi E, Deli J | title = Cryptocapsinepoxide-Type Carotenoids from Red Mamey, Pouteria sapota. | journal = J Nat Prod | year = 2013 | pmid = 23451823 | doi=10.1021/np3007827 | volume=76 | issue=4 | pages=607–14| url=http://real.mtak.hu/4846/1/Journal_Natural_Product_2013.pdf }}