Sapote
Encyclopedia
Sapote is a term for a soft, edible fruit
. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to Mexico
, Central America
and northern parts of South America
.
Some but not all sapotes come from the family
Sapotaceae
:
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and northern parts of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Some but not all sapotes come from the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Ericales. The family includes approximately 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in approximately 65 genera . Distribution is pantropical....
:
- Sapotaceae sapotes:
- Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, and possibly El Salvador. The Sapotaceae were named after this species.
- Yellow sapote (Pouteria campechiana) is native to Mexico and Central America.
- Mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) is from southern Mexico to northern South America.
- Green sapote (Pouteria viridis) is native to lowland southern Mexico.
- EbenaceaeEbenaceaeThe Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants, which includes ebony and persimmon. The family has approximately 500 species of trees and shrubs in two genera, Diospyros and Euclea. The species are mostly evergreen and native to the tropics and subtropics, with a few deciduous species native to...
sapotes:- Black sapote (Diospyros digyna), from eastern MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
south to Colombia, is probably the original AztecAztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
tzapotl. - Chapote (Diospyros texanaDiospyros texanaDiospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas Persimmon, Mexican Persimmon and the more ambiguous "black...
) is native to the lower Rio GrandeRio GrandeThe Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
valley region in Texas and Mexico
- Black sapote (Diospyros digyna), from eastern Mexico
- Other sapotes
- White sapote (Casimiroa edulis: RutaceaeRutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
) is native to northern and central Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala. - South American sapote (Quararibea cordata: MalvaceaeMalvaceaeMalvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
) is native to the Amazon rainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
s of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
- White sapote (Casimiroa edulis: Rutaceae