Botanical Name :Diospyros ebenaster Retz.
Family: Ebenaceae
Genus: Diospyros
Species: D. digyna
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ericales
Other Scientific Names: Sapote negro Sonn. ,Diospyros sapota Roxb.,Sapota nigra Blanco ,Diospyros nigra Perr. ,Diospyros nigra Blanco
Common Names :Sapote (Tag.),Zapote (Span.), Sapote negro (Span.),Chocolate fruits (Engl.),Ebony persimmon(Engl.),Chocolate Pudding Fruit and (in Spanish) Zapote Prieto.
Habitat :Native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Colombia. With time, it reached many parts of the world and now is being grown in the Philippines, Malacca, Maurius, Hawai, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Description :
Sapote is a tall, smooth tree, 7 to 17 meters high. Leaves are leathery, shiny, thick, oblong to elliptic-oblong,tapered at both ends, glossy, and 10–30 cm (3.9–12 in) long and borne on rather short stalks. Flowers are dioecious, occurring singly in the axils of leaves and measuring from 1 to 1.5 cm long. Calyx is greenish, with broad truncate lobes. Corolla is tubular, lobed and white. Fruits is large, smooth, green, rounded, 9 to 12 cm in diameter, more or less depressed at its apex, enveloped at its base by a persistent calyx. The flesh of the fruit is yellowish, turning nearly black at maturity. Seeds are usually four and about 2 cm long.
click & see
Fruit are tomato-like with an inedible skin that turns from olive to a deep yellow-green when ripe and an edible pulp that turns from white when unripe to a flavor, color and texture often likened to chocolate pudding when ripe....click & see
Cultivation:
The black sapote is usually grown from seeds, which remain viable for several months in dry storage and germinate in about 30 days after planting in flats. Vegetative propagation is not commonly practiced but the tree has been successfully air-layered and also shield-budded using mature scions.
Black sapote trees are vigorous growers. These should be spaced 10-12 m apart. This fruit is a heavy bearer and can bear sizeable crops with very less attention.
The fruit turns a duller colour when ripe and the persistent calyx at the base, which is pressed against the developing fruit, becomes reflexed. At this stage the fruits are still firm. They soften 3-14 days after harvesting, and must be distributed beforehand because soft ripe fruits are difficult to handle.
Individual fruits ripen suddenly and unpredictably within 24 hours. Harvested fruits can be stored for several months at 10 deg. C. When removed from cold storage and placed at tropical room temperature (about 29 deg. C), they will soften within 48 hours.
Black persimmon is a good source of vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus. It is hardy tree requiring very less care.. It is also heavy bearer. So it has a potential for being developed as a new commercial fruit crop.
Edible Uses:
The fruits are eaten when fully ripe and soft. The pulp, which is contained within a thin skin, is soft, sweet, smooth and pale brown in colour. When scooped out and stirred, the colour changes to chocolate brown.
Apart from being eaten fresh, the pulp may be made into a drink by blending with citrus, vanilla, or other flavours. It is also used in ice-cream, cakes and liqueurs.
In the Philippines, fruit is eaten in milk, cooked in pies (with lemon to counteract its mawkishness), or made into ice-cream.
The unripe fruits are inedible, caustic and bitter. These have also been used as fish poison in Philippines and the West Indies.
The wood is yellowish to deep-yellow with black markings near the heart of old trunks; it is compact and suitable for cabinetwork, but is little used.
Medicinal Uses:
Parts used :Fruit, bark, leaves.
Folkloric
*In the Philippines, pounded bark and leaves are used as blistering plaster.
*In Yucatan, decoction of leaves used for fevers.
*Used as remedy for leprosy, ringworm and for itching.
Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Sapote.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_digyna
http://www.fruitipedia.com/black_sapote%20Diospuros%20digina.htm
