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Chrysophyllum cainito

 
Chrysophyllum Cainito

 
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Chrysophyllum cainito
 
 
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Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family 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 ....
, native to the lowlands of Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and the West Indies. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 m in height.

It has numerous common names including cainito, caimito, star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme du lait, estrella, milk fruit and aguay. It is also known by the synonym
Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. Usage and terminology are different for zoology and botany....
 Achras cainito.

The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
, alternate, simple oval, entire, 5-15 cm long; the underside shines with a golden color when seen from a distance.






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Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family 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 ....
, native to the lowlands of Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and the West Indies. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 m in height.

It has numerous common names including cainito, caimito, star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme du lait, estrella, milk fruit and aguay. It is also known by the synonym
Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. Usage and terminology are different for zoology and botany....
 Achras cainito.

Chrysophyllum Cainito0
The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
, alternate, simple oval, entire, 5-15 cm long; the underside shines with a golden color when seen from a distance. The tiny flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell. The tree is also hermaphroditic (self-fertile).

It has round, purple-skinned fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 that is often green around the calyx, with a star pattern in the pulp. Sometimes there is a greenish-white variety of the fruit. The skin is rich in latex, and both it and the rind are not edible. The flattened seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s are light brown and hard. It bears fruit year around after it reaches about seven years of age.

The fruits are delicious as a fresh dessert fruit; it is sweet and best served chilled. The flattened seeds are light brown and hard. Infusions of the leaves have been used against diabetes and articular rheumatism
Rheumatism

Rheumatism or Rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the heart, bones, joints, kidney, skin and lung. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology....
. The bark is considered a tonic and stimulant, and a bark decoction is used as an antitussive. The fruit also exist in two colors, dark purple and greenish brown. The purple fruit has a denser skin and texture while the greenish brown fruit has a thin skin and a more liquid pulp.

A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

In Literature

The Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
-winning poet Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott

Derek Alton Walcott is a West Indies poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who writes mainly in English language. Born in Castries, St. Lucia, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992....
 immortalizes the fruit as a symbol of the Caribbean
Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
 itself in his 1979 collection, The Star-Apple Kingdom.

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