CHAPTER XI 

 THE SAPOTACEOUS FRUITS 



THE sapotaceous fruits are so named from the family Sapota- 

 cere, to which they belong, and which in turn is named from the 

 old generic name Sapota (now represented in Achras Sapota, 

 the sapodilla). The species are mostly tropical, although a few 

 species of little economic importance are native in the United 

 States north of the Florida Keys. 



THE SAPODILLA (Plate XIX) 

 (Achras Sapota, L.) 



Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, who was one of the first 

 Europeans to study the plants of the New World, called the 

 sapodilla the best of all fruits. More recently, Thomas Firm- 

 inger, an English horticulturist who lived in India, wrote of it 

 that " a more luscious, cool, and agreeable fruit is not to be met 

 with in this or perhaps any country in the world" ; while the 

 poetic French botanist, Michel Etienne Descourtilz, has char- 

 acteristically described it as having "the sweet perfumes of 

 honey, jasmine, and lily of the valley." 



While it is scarcely possible to indorse the enthusiastic 

 opinion of Oviedo, the sapodilla must be considered one of the 

 best fruits of tropical America. It cannot vie, perhaps, with 

 the pineapple or the cherimoya, but it is deservedly held in 

 great esteem by the inhabitants of many tropical countries. 



The tree is evergreen and stately, sometimes attaining a 

 height of 50 to 75 feet, with a dense rounded or conical crown. 



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