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| Sapotaceae | |
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| Foliage and fruit (a berry containing one seed) ofPouteria sapota | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Sapotaceae Juss.[1] |
| Type genus | |
| Manilkara Adans.[2] | |
| Subfamilies | |
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TheSapotaceae are afamily offlowering plants belonging to theorderEricales. The family includes approximately 800species ofevergreen trees andshrubs in about 65 genera (35–75, depending on generic definition). Their distribution ispantropical.
Many species produce edible fruits, or white blood-sap that is used to cleanse dirt, organically and manually, while others have other economic uses. Species noted for their edible fruits includeManilkara (sapodilla),Chrysophyllum cainito (star-apple or golden leaf tree),Gambeya africana andGambeya albida (star-apple), andPouteria (abiu,mamey sapote).Vitellaria paradoxa (shi in several languages of West Africa andkarité in French; also anglicized asshea) is also the source of an oil-rich nut, the source of edibleshea butter, which is the major lipid source for many African ethnic groups and is also used in traditional and Western cosmetics and medications. The "miracle fruit"Synsepalum dulcificum is also placed in the Sapotaceae.
Trees of the genusPalaquium (gutta-percha) produce an importantlatex with a wide variety of uses. The seeds of the treeSideroxylon spinosum produce an edibleoil, traditionally harvested inMorocco.
The family name is derived fromzapote, a Mexican vernacular name for one of the plants (in turn derived from theNahuatltzapotl) and Latinised byLinnaeus assapota, a name now treated as a synonym ofManilkara (also formerly known by the invalid nameAchras).
74 genera are currently accepted:[3]
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