Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni

മുട്ടപ്പഴം

Family : SAPOTACEAE

Synonym : Lucuma palmeri Fernald

Common Names : Muttappazham, Canistel, Chesa, Egg fruit, Yellow sapota

Flowering 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 Characters :

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.