THE SAPOTACEOUS FRUITS 



345 



sapodilla, and the sugar-apple. For its ornamental value 

 alone it merits cultivation. Charles Kingsley, in his brief 

 account of West Indian fruits, refers to the beauty of this plant. 

 "And what is the next," he asks, after mentioning some of the 

 trees seen on one of his rambles, "like an evergreen peach, 

 shedding from the under side of every leaf a golden light, 

 call it not shade? A star-apple." 



On the deep rich soils of Cuba the tree sometimes reaches 

 50 feet in height, although in southern Florida it rarely exceeds 

 30 feet. The leaves are oval or oblong, about 4 inches in length, 

 deep green and glossy above, 

 and golden-brown, with a sheen 

 like that of satin, beneath. 

 The flowers are small and in- 

 conspicuous, purplish white in 

 color. The fruit is commonly 

 round, sometimes oblate, and 2 

 to 4 inches in diameter. The 

 surface is smooth, somewhat 

 glossy, dull purple in some vari- 

 eties, light green in others. On 

 cutting the fruit transversely, 

 it is found to be differentiated 

 into two kinds of flesh ; directly 

 under the thin tenacious skin is a layer of soft, somewhat granu- 

 lar flesh, concolorous with the skin, and not very juicy ; inclosed 

 by this are eight translucent whitish segments in which the 

 seeds are embedded. When the fruit is halved thus, trans- 

 versely, these cut segments present a star-like appearance, 

 whence the common name. Both kinds of flesh are sweet, 

 entirely lacking in acidity, with the characteristic sapotaceous 

 flavor. Normally there is one seed in each segment, but fre- 

 quently several are aborted, leaving three to five in the fruit. 

 They are ovate to elliptic in outline, flattened, J inch long, 



FIG. 45. The star-apple (Chryso- 

 phyttum Cainito), a popular fruit in 

 Cuba. It is green or purple in color, 

 and the flesh is melting, sweet, and 

 pleasantly flavored. (X about J) 



