Form: Tree.

Lifespan: Perennial.

Leaf retention: Evergreen.

Growth rate: Slow.

Mature Size: 6-60' high and 6-40' wide.

Flowers: Pale yellow to white, small, bell-shaped with brown sepals, inconspicuous.

Bloom: Several times spring through fall.

Self-fruitful: Some cultivars will need a second tree.

Years before fruiting: 2-4 if grafted, 5-8 from seed.

Fruit: Round, scurfy brown skin, juicy, sweet, yellow-brown flesh. The flavor is often described as a cross between brown sugar and a pear. The fruit has 1-12 hard, black, spiked seeds. Unripe fruit is very astringent.

Months for fruit to ripen: 4-6. Scrape the skin to make sure that the fruit is not green underneath the brown scurf. A yellow to orange skin color, and being slightly soft, indicates ripeness. It the stem leaks latex when cut, the fruit is not fully ripe.

Storage after harvest: Hard fruits need to soften at room temperature until they are slightly soft to the touch. Once soft, they can keep for a week in a refrigerator or can be frozen.

Leaves: Dark green, glossy, oval, spirally clustered at branch tips. This tree provides dense shade.

Stems: The sap contains a white latex which is a source for chicle, formerly used as a chewing gum base. The tree is very wind resistant. No thorns.

Roots: Cuttings of desirable cultivars are often grafted onto sapodilla seedling rootstock. The extensive roots derive two-thirds of the tree's water in the top 30" of the soil. Its surface roots can be invasive in moist soil, and when old and large, heave pavements. This tree should be planted 10' away from sidewalks and foundations.

Cultivars of Note:

'Alano' A tree growing 25-30 tall, self-fruitful, heavy producer, 9oz fruit, excellent flavor, very fine texture, very sweet, from Thailand.

'Silas Woods' A dwarf tree growing 6-10' tall, self-fruitful, heavy producer, 9oz fruit, excellent flavor, fine texture, very sweet, from south Florida. Its branches can break from the weight of developing fruit if not supported or the fruit not thinned.

Wildlife: The fruit attracts mammals, including fruit bats, which are also attracted to nectar and pollinate the flowers.

Toxic / Danger: The seeds are a choking hazard because of a spike on one end and are poisonous. Older leaves are poisonous.