Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni
മുട്ടപ്പഴം


Family: SAPOTACEAE
Sub-Family: Not available
English Name: Egg Fruit
Synonym: Lucuma campechiana Kunth
Common Name: Canistel, Yellow sapota
Flowering & Fruiting Period: January - June
Distribution: Native of Central and Tropical America
Habitat: Cultivated in homesteads
Uses: The fruit is excellent when eaten raw, it can also be used in cakes, pies, ice creams, puddings etc. A decoction of the astringent bark is taken as a febrifuge and is applied on skin eruptions. A preparation of the seeds has been employed as a remedy for ulcers. The tree produces an abundant latex. The fine-grained, compact, strong, moderate to very heavy and hard timber is valued especially for planks and rafters in construction. The heartwood is greyish-brown to reddish-brown and blends into the sapwood, which is somewhat lighter in colour.
Key Characteristics: Small trees, to 7 m tall; bark greyish-brown. Leaves simple, clustered at apex of branchlets, spirally arranged. Flowers in fascicles of 2 or 3, axillary and from below the leaves; sepals 5 or 6, corolla creamy white, lobes 5-6. stamens 5-6, filaments shorter than the anthers. Fruit orange yellow.