White Sapote (Seedling) Fruit Live Plant

The white sapote is also called casimiroa and Mexican apple, and known as cochitzapotl in the Nahuatl language (meaning “sleep-sapote”). This is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica. The genus is named for “an Otomi Indian, Casimiro Gómez, from the town of Cardonal in Hidalgo, Mexico, who fought and died in Mexico’s war of independence.

The white sapote is a species with great potential as a dooryard fruit in Florida. Despite its name, it does not belong to the Sapote family, but is a distant citrus relative. The flavor of the custard like pulp ranges from fair to spectacular. A mature tree is capable of very high yields. The white sapote is a rugged species and will grow and fruit as far north as Orlando. The Aztecs called this tree cochiztzapotl (“sleep-producing sapote”), for they believed that eating the fruit induced sleepiness.

The trees range from 5–16 m (16–52 ft) tall and are evergreen. The leaves are alternate, palmately compound with three to five leaflets, the leaflets 6–13 cm long and 2.5–5 cm broad with an entire margin. The leaf petiole 10–15 cm long. The fruit is an ovoid drupe, 5–10 cm in diameter, with a thin, inedible skin turning from green to yellow when ripe, and an edible pulp, which can range in flavor from bland to banana-like to peach to pear to vanilla. The pulp can be creamy-white in green-skin varieties or a beige-yellow in yellow-skin varieties and has a smooth texture similar to ripe avocado. It contains one to five seeds that are said to have narcotic properties. A slight color change is often the best indication of maturity. The fruit must be clipped from the branch. If it is pulled from the branch, the area around the stem insert will spoil before the rest of the flesh ripens. The fruit is ready to eat when slightly soft to the touch.

White Sapote Benefits:

• White sapotes are best eaten uncooked. Cooking makes them limp and less flavorful.
• Sapotes can be eaten alone or combined with other fresh fruits in salads for added interest.
• Puree peeled, seeded sapote and mix with orange juice or milk and a few drops of vanilla to make a refreshing drink.
• Fruit has a remarkably high food value, almost as rich in protein, carbohydrate and vitamins as bananas.
• The bark, seeds and leaves contain a glucoside called Casimirosine that has proved to have an hypnotic and sedative effect.
• Regionally, it is used medicinally to induce sleep
• A decoction of the leaves is also used to treat diabetes, while in China it is popularly used to lower blood pressure.