1. Prickly-pear [(Chumbo, Barbary-fig, Indian-fig, Indian-fig prickly-pear, mission cactus, mission prickly-pear, smooth mountain prickly-pear, smooth prickly-pear, spineless cactus, sweet prickly-pear, tuberous prickly-pear, tuna cactus, boereturksvy, grootdoringturksvy, figuier d'Inde, figuier de Barbarie, Feigenkaktus, figo-da-Índia, figo-da-Espanha, figueira-da-Barbária, jamaracá, jurumbeba, orelha-de-onça, palma-de-gado, palma-gigante, chumba, chumbera, higuera, nopal de Castilla, nopal pelón, tuna, tuna de Castilla, tuna mansa (GRIN, MARKLE))]
      Cactaceae
      Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [(syn:  Cactus decumanus Willd., Cactus ficus-indica L. (basionym), Opuntia amyclaea Ten., Opuntia cordobensis Speg., Opuntia decumana (Willd.) Haw., Opuntia ficus-indica var. gymnocarpa (F. A. C. Weber) Speg., Opuntia gymnocarpa F. A. C. Weber, Opuntia hispanica Griffiths, Opuntia maxima Mill., Opuntia megacantha Salm-Dyck, Opuntia paraguayensis K. Schum. (GRIN))]
1. Prickly-pear, Texas [(chenille prickly-pear, Lindheimer prickly-pear, nopal prickly-pear, small round-leaf prickly-pear, klein rondeblaarturksvy, cacanapo (GRIN))]
      Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelm. var. lindheimeri (Engelm.) B. D. Parfitt & Pinkava [(syn:  Opuntia lindheimeri Engelm. (basionym) (GRIN))]
2.  Opuntia ficus-indica is a large, segmented, branched, succulent, spiny shrub (cactus) that grows to a height of 2 to 5 meters (7 to 16 feet) and a width of 3 meters (10 feet).  Native to Mexico.  Domestication of the plant occurred over 9,000 years ago.  Roots are shallow and measure 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches).  A woody stem is formed from old pads or cladodes.  Dull green to grey cladodes are large, flat, pad-like, succulent stem segments which are branched, leaf-like, oblong, ovate, or broadly obovate in shape, and 25 to 60 centimeters (10 to 24 inches) long by 20 to 40 centimeters (8 to 16 inches) wide.  Margins are entire.  Cladodes can hold large amounts of water.  New cladodes are produced in a single flush on the terminal cladodes in the spring.  Cladodes contain areoles (similar to lateral buds) that are spaced a few centimeters apart and contain 1 to 6 white or yellowish spines (measuring 1 to 3 centimeters (0.4 to 1.2 inches) long) and glochids.  Each cladode can contain a few hundred areoles.  Each areole can produce one flower that occurs near the apex (perimeter) of a cladode.  Yellow or orange flowers are solitary, large, cup-shaped, and range in size from 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) in diameter.  Flowers open for only one day to limit water loss.  Individual flowers contain both male and female reproductive organs, an inferior ovary that occurs beneath the perianth parts and spirally-arranged yellow stamens, 150 to 400 ovules, a thickened greenish style and a stigma.  Flowers can be self-pollinated.  Most fruit is produced on 1 year old cladodes at the top and periphery of the plant.  Each cladode can produce 4 to 20 fruit.  Purple, red-purple, yellow-orange, greenish-orange, greenish or red fruit is a berry that is pear-shaped, roundish, or barrel-shaped, and 4 to 10 centimeters (1.6 to 4 inches) long by 4 to 9 centimeters (1.6 to 3.5 inches) in diameter.  The skin contains spines and glochids.  The pulp is red, red-purple, yellow-orange, or greenish in color, fleshy, watery, and succulent.  The flavor is sweet to slightly acidic and resembles watermelon.  Fruit contains 150 to 400 hard edible seeds that are similar in size and texture to those in grapes.  Some countries regard the plant as an invasive noxious weed.
      Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri is a thicket-forming, heavy-bodied shrub (cactus) that can grow to a height of 0.9 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) and a width of 1.5 to 2.4 meters (5 to 8 feet).  Native to the U.S.  The trunk is cylindrical and can be erect to spreading.  Cladodes (joints) are green to bluish green in color, obovate, subcircular, round, oval or orbicular in shape, asymmetrical, flat, waxy, juicy, and 15 to 30 by 12.5 to 25 centimeters (6 to 12 by 5 to 10 inches) in size.  Tubercles are 3.8 to 6.4 centimeters (1.5 to 2.5 inches) apart.  Cladodes contain dense tufts of minute yellow to brown barbed glochids (0.3 centimeter (0.1 inch) long) and 1 to 6 translucent, yellow, creamy white, brown or black spines (up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inch) long) per areole.  Some varieties are spineless.  Red, yellow or orange flowers are bowl-shaped, contain one pistil, many yellow stamens, many greenish-yellow sepals, and measure 5 to 13 centimeters (2 to 5 inches) wide.  Most flowers are crowded on the edge of the cladodes.  Red to purple fruit (tuna) is variable in shape and size.  The thick rind is covered with scattered tufts of glochids and small areoles.  The skin is thin.  Pulp is juicy.  Fruit contain many seeds (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, VAN WYK, ARIZONA, PIER, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, AGGIE-HORT, WILDFLOWER, OKLAHOMA, EFLORAS).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from the end of winter to summer.  Fruiting occurs in the summer, but can be timed by low wintertime temperatures, the application of fertilizers, or the removal of the spring flush of flower buds.  Bud removal can lead to a second flowering and the production of fruit in November and December.  Shade and gibberellic acid can inhibit flower-bud initiation.  Flower opening to fruit maturity occurs in approximately 70 to 150 days.  Fruit production occurs in 5 to 6 years from seed and 2 to 3 years from cuttings.  Trees can bear fruit for 30 to 40 years.
Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri flowering occurs from spring (March) to June in Texas, and other Southwestern states.  Fruit ripens from July to September (PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGGIE-HORT, EFLORAS).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires subtropical, tropical, or cool, semiarid climate with mild, cool winters and hot summers (with temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F)), an annual rainfall of 25 to 60 centimeters (10 to 24 inches), full sun, and well-drained sandy soils, soils of low clay and sodium content, or calcareous soil.  Naturalized in dry disturbed habitats.  A higher pH is preferred in wetter areas.  A lower pH is tolerated in drier areas.  Thrives in USDA zones 8b to 10.  Tolerates drought, high temperatures, wind, a wide range of climates, and rocky or sandy soils of low fertility.  Does not tolerate freezing temperatures, very acid soils, wet conditions or excessive moisture.  Propagation is by seed, tissue culture and cuttings.  Cuttings are used in commercial practices.  Stem segments (pads) with one to three cladodes are selected during late spring to early summer.  Detached cladodes are dried for 1 to 3 weeks before planting to minimize fungal infections.  The basal cladode should be planted upright, with 30 to 50 percent of its surface area in the soil and spaced 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) apart.  New roots will develop from the areoles in 2 weeks.  No irrigation is required for establishment.  Vegetative propagation can also be done with flower buds and fruit.  For commercial production, plants are planted in a rectangular grid or in rows oriented north-south.  Spacing for fruit production should be 3 by 4 meters (10 by 13 feet) or 400 to 1,600 plants per hectare.  Light irrigation and fertilization aids production.  Pruning and shaping is used to facilitate movement of equipment between plants and fruit picking.  Thinning of flower buds can produce larger fruit.  Fruit ripening is favored by temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F).  Temperatures below 15 °C (59 °F) delay fruit ripening and extend the harvest period.  Fruit are harvested over a 2 to 6 week period that is accomplished by multiple pickings.  Fruit is harvested with gloved hands and knives just after the peel color changes from green to its final color.  Fruit are harvested on the outer portions of the canopy.  A small piece of the underlying cladode is removed with the fruit to prolong fruit shelf life.  During processing, the cladode is removed, a de-prickling machine removes the spines and sizes are sorted.  Fruit can be stored for 2 to 6 weeks at temperatures near 5 °C (41 °F).  Pads are harvested twice per year.  Commercially the most important cactus species.  Fruit is cultivated in more than 20 countries.
      Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri requires full sun, elevations of up to 1,900 meters (6,234 feet), well-drained acid to neutral sand, gravel, loam, clay, or caliche soil, low annual precipitation, and dry conditions.  Grown in drier areas including rock outcrops and stony limestone soils of south and central Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico.  Also grown in the plains, shrublands and woodlands.  Thrives in USDA zones 8 to 10.  Tolerates heat, part shade and cold (10 °F or -12 °C).  Propagated by seeds and cuttings (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, ARIZONA, PIER, RANGAHAU, DESERT TROPICALS, AGGIE-HORT, WILDFLOWERS, and OKLAHOMA).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit and young stems are sold in informal street markets by street vendors in South America and in major markets throughout the world including Europe.  The most important markets in Mexico are near Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.  Fruit from many species of Opuntia are sold in informal markets in Mexico, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America and Southern Europe.
      (JANICK, VAN WYK).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Most pulp is consumed fresh after chilling.  Care must be taken to remove the spines and glochids (fine spines).  Glochids are usually removed by mechanical brushing.  Pulp can be removed by gripping the fruit on the two ends and cutting out the pulp, which is the size of a golf ball.   Lime or lemon juice can add flavor to fresh fruit.  Pulp can be dried or cooked and made into jelly, candy and preserves; pulp is used in ice cream, milkshakes, fruit salads, compotes, sorbets, puree, jams, marmalades, wines, and soft drinks.  Pulp is also added to some Indian and Mexican savory dishes.  Flowers are sometimes consumed raw.  Seeds are swallowed whole while eating the fruit or consumed after drying, roasting, or grinding.  Immature young stems (pads) are consumed as vegetables (cooked and used like French beans) or pickles.
      Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri fruit are consumed raw.  Fruit can be processed into preserves, syrups, fermented juice, tuna cheese, and tea (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, AGGIE-HORT).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit are high in vitamin C and nicotinamide and minerals including calcium and magnesium; fruit contain no fat.  The plant has antioxidant properties.
      Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri:  older pads contain oxalic acid that can cause poisoning when consumed excessively (JANICK, VAN WYK, RANGAHAU, AGGIE-HORT).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Pads, flowers and fruit are used for medicinal purposes.  Plants are used to treat kidney ailments, burns and diabetes; diuretic, analgesic, cardiotonic, laxative, and antiparasitic properties.  Juice is used to treat nausea, fever, and ulcers.  Roasted fruit is used to cure coughs.  The rind is used to cure kidney diseases.  Flowers and stems are antispasmodic, diuretic and emollient.  Flowers are astringent and used to reduce bleeding and treat stomach problems.
      Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri fruit is made into tea that is used to cure gallstones.  Tender young cladodes (joints) are used as poultices to reduce swelling (JANICK, RANGAHAU, AGGIE-HORT).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Opuntia ficus-indica:  California, Arizona, Texas, Hawaii; grown widely in home gardens and widely cultivated and naturalized in small commercial plantings in southwestern and southern U.S.; Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri:  distributional range includes Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, California, Arizona, and Texas (GRIN, MARKLE, PIER, TRADE WINDS, AGGIE-HORT, WILDFLOWERS).
5. Other commercial production regions:  Opuntia ficus-indica:  Chile and Mexico supply most of the US imports; widely cultivated and naturalized in South America including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia; Central America; S. Europe, the Mediterranean including Italy, Sicily, North Africa, Spain, Greece; Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Egypt; Africa including South Africa, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia; Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, and Macaronesia.  Approximately 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) are used for fruit production in commercial plantations worldwide.  Mexico, which is the greatest consumer of the fruit, produces approximately 400,000 tonnes (440,925 tons) fresh mass of fruit per year on more than 70,000 hectares (172,974 acres).  Mexico exports more than 2,000 tonnes (2,205 tons) of fruit annually, mostly to the U.S.  Italy (Sicily) is the second most important country for producing the fruit.  Italy contains 3,500 hectares (8,649 acres) of intensively managed plantations that produce approximately 70,000 tonnes (77,162 tons) of fruit annually.  An additional 10,000 plus hectares (24,711 acres) produce some fruit.  Other countries including Argentina, Chile, South Africa, and Tunisia grow over 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) for fruit production.  Major production also occurs in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco, and the U.S.  The plant is cultivated on over 1.6 million hectares (3,953,686 acres) for forage and fodder.  Fruit yields vary and range from 4 tonnes (4.4 tons) of fruit fresh mass/year/hectare (non-irrigated, marginal regions) to 30 tonnes (33 tons) /year/hectare (intensive management).   Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri:  naturalized in South Africa and Mexico including the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts (GRIN, LOGAN 1996, JANICK, RANGAHAU, AGGIE-HORT, WILDFLOWERS, EFLORAS).
6. Use: Opuntia ficus-indica:  Fruit used for mostly fresh eating; however, it can be made into preserves, candies or dried.  Young cacti cladodes (pads) can be mixed with other ingredients to make relish (salsa) or used as livestock feed.  Also the young pads are boiled and used like snap beans in salads and soups; gum from the stem is used to make candles and other products; ornamental, fence or barrier plant, beverage base, fuelwood; host plant of cochineal, a mealy bug that produces a valuable red vegetable dye known as carmine; medicinal purposes, weed; Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri:  Fruit; commercial alcohol is made from the sap of the stems; ornamental, forage, weed; juice from the cladodes is used in candle making (GRIN, MARKLE, VAN WYK, ARIZONA, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, AGGIE-HORT).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit with spines and skin removed and cacti pads.
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit and young cacti leaves
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel and Stalk, Stem and Petiole
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI0356 and FI 4133) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, MARKLE, BAYER, LOGAN, PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, VAN WYK, ARIZONA, PIER, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, RANGAHAU, DESERT TROPICALS, TRADE WINDS, EFLORAS, AGGIE-HORT, WILDFLOWER, OKLAHOMA.
11.Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Regions 6, 10 and 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  OPUFI (O. ficus-indica), OPULI (listed as O. lindheimeri ENGELM.)
                                      494
1. Pulasan [(Kapoelasan (MARKLE))]
      Sapindaceae
      Nephelium ramboutan-ake (Labill.) Leenh. [(syn: Litchi ramboutan-ake Labill. (basionym), Nephelium mutabile Blume (GRIN))]
2. A small tree that grows to a height of 9 to 15 meters (30 to 49 feet).  Trees rarely grow to a height of 24 meters (79 feet).  Native to Southeast Asia, specifically Myanmar and the Malaysian peninsula.  The trunk is short, 30.5 to 41 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) thick and up to 45 centimeters (18 inches) in diameter.  Buttresses are up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall.  Wood is light red, hard and heavy.  The crown is wide and rounded.  Dark green to bluish leaves are alternate, pinnate to odd-pinnate, slightly wavy, and barely glossy above, hairy underneath, pale, and 17 to 45 centimeters (7 to 18 inches) long.  Leaves consist of two to five pairs of opposite leaflets that are oblong to elliptic-lanceolate in shape, pointed at the tip, and 5 to 17.5 centimeters (2 to 7 inches) long by 1.5 to 5 centimeters (0.6 to 2 inches) wide.  Petioles are 3 to 9 centimeters (1.2 to 3.5 inches) long.  Petiolules are 0.2 to 0.4 centimeters (0.08 to 0.2 inch).  Greenish flowers are very small and are borne singly or in clusters on the branches of the erect, axillary or terminal panicles.  Panicles contain yellowish to brownish hairs.  Flowers are petal less, contain 4 to 5 hairy sepals can contain male and female reproductive organs or just one type of reproductive organ.  Hermaphroditic female flowers contain 5 to 8 stamens, a pistil with a bilobed ovary and, a single style topped with a stigma.  Male flowers contain 5 to 8 stamens.  Yellow, purple, or light to dark red fruit can be produced without fertilization.  Fruit occur solitary or in clusters of 3 to 5, is globose, ellipsoid, subglobular, or ovoid in shape, and measures 3 to 7.5 centimeters (1.2 to 3 inches) long by 4 to 6 centimeters (1.6 to 2.4 inches) wide by 50 to 80 grams (2 to 3 ounces) in weight.  Skin is thick, leathery, and covered with short, thick, fleshy stubby, straight spines (1 centimeter (0.375 inch) long) or conical, blunt-tipped tubercles.  1 to 2 small, undeveloped fruits may occur close to the stem.  Pulp (aril) is white to yellowish-white in color, translucent, juicy and up to 1 centimeter (0.375 inch) thick.  The flavor is subacid to sweet.  Compared to rambutan, pulasan fruit are larger, have smaller spines, have a larger fruit stem, and are less juicy and tasty.  Pulasan fruit are also sweeter.  Each fruit contains an ovoid, oblong or ellipsoid, light brown to grayish-brown, flattened seed that measures 2 to 3.5 centimeters (0.8 to 1.4 inch) long.  Some fruit contain under-developed seeds (MANSFELD, PERENNIAL, JANICK, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY, MONTOSO, POPENOE).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  In Hawaii, flowering occurs twice per year (February to March and August to October).  In Southeast Asia, flowering occurs from June to August.  In Hawaii, fruiting occurs spring and autumn (same as the rambutan).  Fruiting occurs October to December in Malaysia and April to May in Thailand.  Fruit mature at about 32 weeks after anthesis.  Trees from grafts produce fruit in 3 to 5 years (JANICK, MONTOSO).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot, wet, very humid ultra-tropical lowlands, elevations of 110 to 350 meters (361 to 1,148 feet), moist, well-drained, rich sand or clay soil, and an annual rainfall of 300 centimeters (118 inches).  Trees bear fruit more profusely after a long dry season.  Similar to rambutan in climatic requirements.  Grows best in lowland primary forests and riverbanks.  Rarely grows in swamps.  Tolerates brief periods of drought.  Compared to rambutan, pulasan is not tolerant of high light levels during establishment.  Does not tolerate frost.  Propagated by seed, layering, budding and grafting.  Seeds should be sown fresh and should not be allowed to dry out.  Germination occurs in 10 to 15 days.  Propagation by seed is not favored, since seedlings may be male or female.  Air layers are short lived.  Grafting and budding is difficult, and is best done in the rainy season on rootstocks already set out in the field.  Plants should be spaced 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet).  Pruning after harvesting is required to maintain the tree size.  Trees should be fertilized similar to rambutan.  Heavy or inconsistent rainfall can cause fruit to crack.  Mostly cultivated in Malaysia and Thailand (MANSFELD, PERENNIAL, JANICK, MORTON, MONTOSO, TRADE WINDS).

      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit is not commonly seen in the market, but is superior to rambutan.  Fruit is sold in markets in Costa Rica and Singapore (JANICK, MORTON, POPENOE).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  The aril is consumed fresh; can be cooked.  Pulp is used in jams and desserts; can be made into juice.  Seeds can be boiled or roasted and prepared into a cocoa-like drink; seeds can yield an edible oil (MANSFELD, PERENNIAL, MONTOSO).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  The fruit is a good source of carbohydrates, vitamin C and calcium.  Dried seed kernels contain a solid white fat (JANICK, ECOCROP).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Leaves and roots are used in poultices.  A root decoction is given to reduce fevers, and expel intestinal worms (MANSFELD, JANICK).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  The plant requires ultra-tropical conditions, which limits its production to extreme South Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (MARKLE).
5. Other production regions:  Costa Rica, Honduras; Southeast Asia including Malaya, Thailand, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Moluccas, India, Myanmar, Assam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines; Northern Australia; also cultivated (GRIN, MORTON, ROY 1995, MANSFELD, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Pulp eaten fresh or stewed, canned, or preserved into jams and jellies.  Seeds can be boiled or roasted and used to make beverages; seeds yield oil; oil can be used in cooking, fuel or soap making; wood; ornamental (MARKLE, JANICK, MORTON).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit pulp and seeds
8. Portion analyzed/sampled: Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class:   Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI 0357) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  Lychee = pulasan
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, MORTON, ROY, MARKLE, MANSFELD, PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, MONTOSO, POPENOE, ECOCROP, TRADE WINDS.
11. Production Map: EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  NEEMU (listed as Nephelium mutabile BLUME)

1. Quandong [(sweet quandong (GRIN))]
      Santalaceae
      Santalum acuminatum (R. Br.) DC. [(syn: Eucarya acuminata (R. Br.) Sprague & Summerh., Fusanus acuminatus R. Br. (basionym), Mida acuminata (R. Br.) Kuntze (GRIN))]
2. A parasitic, small, evergreen shrub, bush, or tree that grows to a height and width of 1 to 10 meters (3 to 33 feet).  Native to Australia.  Quandong requires a host plant (or plants) growing nearby in order to thrive.  Trees have a modified root structure called a haustorium, which attaches to a host root and extracts xylem.  Roots can extend approximately 10 meters (33 feet).  Wood is hard, heavy, and close-grained.  Bark is gray.  Branchlets are pendulous.  Olive-green, gray-green, or yellow-green leaves are simple, leathery, opposite, lance-shaped to ovate with a sickle-like curve, slender, pointed at the tip, and 3 to 12 centimeters (1.2 to 5 inches) long by 0.3 to 1.5 centimeters (0.1 to 0.6 inch) wide.  The leaf stalk is 0.5 to 1 centimeter (0.2 to 0.4 inch) long.  Flowers occur in clusters and form racemes on the ends of branches.  Individual flowers are creamy white to creamy-green and orange/red/brown in color, fragrant, small, and 0.2 to 0.4 centimeters (0.08 to 0.16 inch) long.  Flowers can contain both male and female reproductive organs.  Red fruit is a drupe that is small, globe-shaped, and approximately 2 to 4 centimeters (0.8 to 1.6 inches) wide.  Immature fruit are green in color.  The skin is shiny to waxy.  The pulp is white to brown in color, fleshy, dry, and 0.3 to 0.5 centimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inch) thick.  The flavor is similar to a combination of tart apricots or peaches, rhubarb, and cinnamon.  Some fruit can be tart to sour.  Seeds are spherical, 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) in diameter, and protected by a hard, wrinkled, woody shell.  Fruit have been valued for over 40 million years by Europeans and Aboriginals.  Fruit is highly desired in Australia and is an important "bush food" in the drier areas of Australia (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANBG, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, ASGAP, ECOCROP, NTG, FRUITANDNUT, BGT, ECOPORT, AUSBUSHFOODS).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering can occur throughout the year but mainly occurs during late summer or October to March, depending upon the growing region.  Fruiting occurs from early spring to summer in some locations and August to December in other locations.  Fruiting occurs in 3 to 5 years from seed (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANBG, ECOCROP, NTG, BGT, ECOPORT, AUSBUSHFOODS).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires nutrient poor, free draining sandy or loamy soils, semi-arid to arid climate, rainfall of 15 to 60 centimeters (6 to 24 inches), dry conditions, and full sun.  Tolerates a wide variety of habitats including the dry interior, light woodlands, dune swales, gravely ridges, creek banks, plains and low rises, and hills.  Tolerates drought, frost, limestone, semi-shade, a wide range of soils including sand, loam and clay, and saline conditions.  Does not tolerate wind, water-logging, or heavy-textured soils.  Propagation is by seed and grafting.  Seed germination is difficult.  In order to promote proper germination, the seed should be aged for a period of 1 to 3 years and the seed coat should be broken.  With these practices, germination will occur in 1 to 4 months at a temperature of 15 °C (59 °F).  Seeds are best sown during the winter.  When the cotyledons harden, the seedling should be potted and given fertilizer.  Two host plants such as clover (Trifolium spp.) and couch grass (Cynodon dactylon) should be transplanted into the pot when transplanting the seedling.  Seedlings should be planted a few meters from surrounding trees.  Young trees require moisture, wind protection, and shade.  Fruit should be harvested as soon as the skin changes color.  After harvesting, fruit are halved, de-stoned, and the flesh is processed or stored as a dehydrated or frozen product.  Cultivation is difficult.  However, fruit is cultivated in several orchards across Australia.  Fruit are also harvested from the wild (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANBG, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, ASGAP, NTG, BGT, ECOPORT, AUSBUSHFOODS).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit is sold in local markets.  Approximately 25 tonnes (27 tons) of fruit are sold each year.  Fruit is mostly sold cut and dried.  Products from the fruit can be purchased throughout Australia.  Fruit has a huge potential for developing both domestic and international markets (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANBG, ASGAP, ECOPORT).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Fruit can be consumed fresh, but are usually cooked, frozen, or dried.  Fruit is mostly used in jams.  Fruit can also be added to cakes; used to make pie fillings, tarts, jellies, fruit leather, cordial, chutney, ketchup, and sauces for meat or ice cream.  Dried fruit can be reconstituted in liquid and used in many recipes.  Fruit can also be used as a flavoring.  The seed is edible and can be eaten raw and salted, roasted in coconut oil, or ground into flour.  Seeds have a nutty flavor and are added to desserts, savory sauces or crumb toppings (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, ECOCROP, FRUITANDNUT, BGT, AUSBUSHFOODS).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit are rich in vitamin C.  The seed is nutritious and high in fat and protein (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, FRUITANDNUT, AUSBUSHFOODS).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  The kernel of the fruit is used for medicinal purposes.  The fruit skin is placed on sores and boils (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  No data (GRIN).
5. Other commercial production regions:  Australia including southwestern and central Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Victoria.  A mature tree can produce approximately 10 to 23 kilograms (22 to 51 pounds) of fruit (GRIN, NTG).
6. Use:  Fruit, beads; tannin from the bark; seed is rich in oil and burns well; wood is used to make furniture; firewood (GRIN, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, ECOCROP).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit pulp
8. Portion analyzed/sampled: Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel.
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  Proposed for 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANBG, PLANTS FOR A FUTURE, ASGAP, ECOCROP, NTG, FRUITANDNUT, BGT, ECOPORT, AUSBUSHFOODS.
11. Production map:  No entry
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  EWCAC
                                      505
1. Rambutan [(litchi chevelu, ramboutan, rambutão (GRIN))]
      Sapindaceae
      Nephelium lappaceum L. [(syn: Dimocarpus crinita Lour., Euphoria glabra Blume, Euphoria nephelium Poir., Nephelium glabrum (Blume) Cambess., Nephelium mutabile var. pallens Hiern, Nephelium xanthioides Radlk.(GRIN))]
2. A bushy, spreading to upright evergreen tree that grows to a height of 5 to 25 meters (16 to 82 feet).  Native to Southeast Asia, particularly peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, Indonesia.  The trunk is straight and 60 centimeters (24 inches) wide.  Wood is reddish, dense and hard.  Bark is wrinkled and greyish to red in color.  The crown is open, wide, dense, and spreading.  Leaves are evergreen, alternate, alternate elliptic, oblong-elliptic, ovate, or obovate in shape, pinnately compound, divided into 1 to 7 pairs of leaflets, and 2 to 40 centimeters (0.8 to 16 inches) long by 2 to 10.5 centimeters (0.8 to 4 inches) wide.  The rachis is reddish and hairy when young.  Leaflets are pale when young, yellowish-green to dark green and dull on the upper surface when older, yellowish to bluish-green beneath when older, sub-opposite to alternate, subsessile, papery to leathery, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or obovate in shape, oblique at the base, and 5 to 25 centimeters (2 to 10 inches) long by 2.5 to 11.0 centimeters (1 to 4 inches) wide.  Flowers are small, petal-less, greenish, yellow or white in color, less than 0.6 centimeters (0.2 inch) wide and contain 4 to 6 sepals (0.07 to 2.1 centimeters (0.03 to 0.8 inch) long), and a complete disk.  Flowers (approximately 500 to 3,000 per cluster) are borne on hairy branched panicles at the ends of the branches in axillary or terminal positions.  Three types of flowers exist:  males (producing only staminate flowers), hermaphrodites functioning as males, and hermaphrodites functioning as females.  Male functional flowers have 5 to 8 well-developed stamens and pistils that fail to function normally.  Female functional flowers have well-developed pistils with non-functional stamens.  Hermaphrodite flowers contain a prominent bifed syle and 5 to 7 staminodes.  There are separate male and hermaphrodite trees.  The quantity of fruit produced increases when all three flower types are planted near each other.  Pollination is achieved by insects.  Yellow, orange, pinkish red, bright to deep red, orange-red, maroon, dark purple, yellowish red, or orange-yellow fruit are drupes that occur in clusters of 5 to 18 on woody stalks and are large, ovoid, ellipsoid, subglobular, or globose in shape, somewhat flattened, and 3.4 to 8 centimeters (1.3 to 3 inches) long by 2.5 to 3.7 centimeters (1 to 1.5 inches) wide by 25 to 45 grams (0.9 to 1.6 ounces) in weight.  1 to 2 small undeveloped fruits may occur close to the stem of mature fruit.  The skin is leathery, thin, tough, shell-like, 0.2 to 0.4 centimeters (0.08 to 0.2 inch) thick, and covered with long, curling soft spines or tubercles and long, fleshy, soft, rigid, red, pinkish or yellow spine/hair (measuring 0.5 to 2 centimeters (0.2 to 0.8 inch)).  The skin cracks away easily to reveal pulp that is white to rose-tinted, crisp to juicy, creamy, succulent, translucent, and 0.4 to 0.8 centimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inch) thick.  The flavor is sweet, acid or subacid.  Each fruit contains a flattened, ovoid to oblong, whitish seed that is 2.5 to 3.4 centimeters (1 to 1.3 inch) long by 1 to 1.5 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inch) wide.  There are several varieties.  Popular cultivars include `Jitlee', `Binjai', Silengkeng, `Rongrein', `R9', and `R137' (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, CULL, BARWICK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, MORTON, ECOCROP, AGROFORESTRY).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering and fruiting times depend on the region the tree is grown.  In some areas, flowering occurs at the end of the dry season.  In these locations, the dry period must last at least 1 month to initiate flowering.  Flowering occurs in the Philippines from late March to early May.  Flowering occurs in the dry tropics in Australia after the onset of cool nights, from July to August.  Flowering occurs in the wet tropics throughout the year, regardless of climate.  Main flowering in the wet tropics occurs from September to October, following the short dry season.  Flowering occurs December to February in Brazil.  Fruiting generally occurs during the wet season (summer).  A second smaller crop can occur that year (winter) on branches that did not bear fruit in the previous fruiting.  Fruiting occurs from May to June in Thailand and is initiated by a drop in night temperatures of 2 to 3 °C (36 to 37 °F) and the onset of the dry season.  Fruiting occurs during the summer in Brazil, June and December in Malaysia, July to November in the Philippines and mid-summer in Australia.  Fruit development takes three months in warm areas and five months in cooler areas.  Fruiting occurs from seed in 5 to 6 years and 3 to 4 years from grafting or layers (JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, MORTON).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot, humid, wet tropical climates, full sun, elevations of sea level to 549 meters (0 to 1,800 feet), evenly distributed high rainfall of 200 to 300 centimeters (79 to 118 inches), low evaporation rates, minimum temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F), and average temperatures of 22 to 35 °C (72 to 95 °F).  Prefers deep, well-drained, loam, rich sandy loam, or clay loam soils and a pH of 5.0 to 6.5.  Grown in lowlands and primary/secondary forests (dryland or swamps) as a lower or middle story tree.  Thrives in USDA zones 10 to 12.  Tolerant of drier environments and climates with 2 to 3 dry months when irrigation is available, and a wide range of well-drained soils including sands and sandy loams.  Not tolerant of frost, salt, high wind, high pH soils, and water logging.  Propagation is by seed, layering, budding and grafting.  Seed must be planted directly after being removed from the fruit.  Germination occurs in 7 to 25 days.  Trees produced from seed are highly variable and result in a high proportion of male flowering trees.  Vegetative propagation is used to produce female flowering trees.  Grafting produces poor results.  Modified forkert or patch budding is the technique used most by commercial propagators.  Grafting should be done during the active growing period (rainy season).  Budding should be done when conditions are warm but drier.  Budded or grafted trees are planted in the field within 12 to 24 months.  Air layering is also becoming a popular technique.  Air layered trees should be removed from the tree within 3 to 4 months of girdling and established in pots for 3 to 6 months prior to field planting.  Young trees require shade.  In the field, trees should be spaced 10 to 13 meters (33 to 43 feet) apart.  Windbreaks are needed in the field.  For commercial purposes, irrigation is required.  Water stress causes a reduction in yield and fruit size.  Training young trees establishes a strong framework of branches.  Annual pruning should be done to remove water sprouts, disease-infected shoots, and dead branches.  Fertilization aids growth.  Trees can produce well for 15 to 20 years.  Fruit are harvested by cutting the entire fruit cluster from the branch or cutting individual fruit with stems when fruit are mature.  Maturity is based on the fruit's fullness, flavor, and color development.  Fruit do not continue to ripen after harvest.  After harvest, fruit are graded.  Fruit sold in local Asian markets is sold on the stalk.  Fruit sold in local supermarkets are wrapped individually in plastic and boxed.  Fruit can be stored for 2 weeks at 10 to 15 °C (50 to 59 °F) at 100% humidity.  Widely cultivated (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, MORTON, ECOCROP, AGROFORESTRY).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit is sold in markets around the world.  UK fruit markets receive fruit from Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Panama, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.  U.S. markets are mainly supplied by Central American growers including Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.  However, trade is limited by quarantine regulations (JANICK).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  The aril is mainly consumed fresh by running a knife horizontally around the skin to lift off one half of the skin and exposing the flesh.  Fruit can be stewed, canned, frozen, juiced, and dried; pulp is made into jams, preserves, and jellies.  Seeds are sometimes roasted and consumed in the Philippines; seed oil is edible (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, MORTON).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit is high in potassium and some vitamins.  The seed is poisonous when	 raw (JANICK, MORTON).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  The fruit peel, leaves and roots are used medicinally.  Unripe fruit is astringent, and stomachic; used to expel worms, reduce fevers, and relieve diarrhea/dysentery.  Leaves are placed on the temples to alleviate headaches.  A bark decoction is used to cure thrush.  A root decoction is used as a fever reducer (BARWICK, MORTON).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.: Hawaii.  In Hawaii, 24 hectares (60 acres) of rambutan were grown in 1993.  Hawaii produced 120 tonnes (132 tons) of fruit that was consumed locally and shipped to the U.S. and Canada (KAWATE 1995, JANICK)
5. Other commercial production regions: Tropical Southeast Asia, Seychelles, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Cameroon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, India, Surinam, New Guinea, tropical Africa, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Liberia, Tanzania, northern Australia, Central & South America, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico; Trinidad, Cuba.  Major and smaller centers of production do not regularly update production data.  Total world production is about 1.5 to 2.0 million tonnes (1,653,467 to 2,204,623 tons) per year and varies widely.  Over 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) are grown.  Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia produce 80% of the total world production.  Australia produces 1,000 tonnes (1,102 tons) of fruit and 100 tonnes (110 tons) of this fruit is exported to Japan.  Approximately 1,000 to 6,000 fruit are produced per tree per year.  Yields are approximately 2 to 20 tonnes (2.2 to 22 tons) per hectare (GRIN, MORTON, JANICK, LORENZI, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Fruit; ornamental; fruit peels and leaves yield a red dye that is used to color batik; wood is used for construction; seed oil is used for edible purposes or in making soap and candles (MARKLE, BARWICK, MORTON, ECOCROP).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit pulp
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel.
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI0358) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  Lychee = rambutan
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, MARKLE, MORTON, KAWATE 1995, PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, CULL, BARWICK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ECOCROP, AGROFORESTRY.
11. Production map:  EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  NEELA

1. Saguaro [(giant cactus, sage-of-the-desert (GRIN))]
      Cactaceae
      Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose [(syn: Cereus giganteus Engelm. (basionym) (GRIN))]
2. A large, slow-growing, tree-like, branched (when mature), upright, stem succulent that grows to a height of 3 to 18 meters (10 to 59 feet).  Native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, California and Mexico.  The largest of the columnar cacti growing in the U.S.  Individual plants can weigh up to 8 tonnes (9 tons).  The taproot is deep, anchoring, and up to 1 meter (3 feet) long.  Lateral roots are thin to thick, extensive, shallow, and 30.5 centimeters (1 foot) to 30 meters (98 feet) long.  Trunks are simple, have smooth, leathery, waxy skin, measure 5 to 75 centimeters (2 to 30 inches) in diameter, and contain 12 to 30 vertical ribs (1 to 3 centimeters (0.4 to 1.2 inches) wide).  Ribs contain brown areoles (axillary buds) that produce clusters of 10 to 30 dense, gray, brown or yellow spines.  Spines are downward pointing (to direct rainwater), up to 7 centimeters (3 inches) long, and spaced 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) apart.  Younger spines are stout and sharp.  Older spines are bristly.  Spines aid in cooling and insulating the plant.  As the plant ages, ribs at the base of the trunk develop dark, woody, corky bark.  13 to 20 internal ribs support the plant.  When plants reach 50 to 100 years of age, lateral erect branches (arms) form.  Approximately 1 to 50 branches can form and measure 30 to 69 centimeters (12 to 27 inches) in diameter.  Tips of branches (arms) and trunks contain tissue folds and spines for protection.  Woody tissue runs parallel up and down the plant to form the cylindrical shape.  Large, fragrant, waxy, creamy white flowers with yellow centers are borne in rings from areoles at the branch and trunk ends.  Flowers open at night, and measure 10 to 12 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) long and 6.5 to 12 centimeters (3 to 5 inches) in diameter.  Individual flowers contain an ovary with a locule measuring up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch), white, short filaments, tan anthers, hundreds of stamens, a floral tube, a style, a nectar chamber, and stigma lobes.  Flower tubes contain scales that are broadly triangular to rounded, and green with red apices.  Plants are primarily pollinated by bats.  Purple to red fruit are berries that are oblong, cylindrical, or oval in shape, 8 to 10 centimeters (3 to 4 inches) long, and up to 8 centimeters (3 inches) in diameter.  Immature fruit are green.  The skin is spiny.  The pulp is fleshy and red in color.  The flavor is sweet.  Fruit often split open while attached to the plant.  Each fruit contains approximately 2,000 to 2,500 tiny, 0.3 centimeter (0.1 inch), reddish black seeds.  Saguaro is the state flower of Arizona (MEYER, PAVEK, EFLORAS, BLUEPLANETBIOMES, UCONN, ARIZONA, SFSU, CACTUS, VT, DESERT TROPICALS, DESERT MUSEUM).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs March through June.  Later flowering occurs in cooler areas.  Fruit is produced yearly.  Fruit ripen from June through August, before the summer rains.  Plants can produce fruit after reaching a height of 2 meters (7 feet) and an age of 40.  Plants can live over 200 years (MEYER, PAVEK, BLUEPLANETBIOMES).
      b. Cultivation:  Prefers elevations of 0 to 1,400 meters (0 to 4,593 feet), low humidity, full sun, a warm desert, semiarid to arid continental or arid subtropical climate, bimodal precipitation that falls from December to February and July to August (ranging from 15 to 38 centimeters (6 to 15 inches) per year), and light, coarse, gravelly to rocky, well-drained soils.  Plants have sufficient water and energy reserves in the stems.  Grown in desert upland communities, gently sloping alluvial flats of the lower bajadas, sandy flats, lowlands, foothills, canyons, steep, rocky, high-elevation volcanic slopes, and open east and west-facing slopes.  Saguaro has the northernmost distribution of any large columnar cacti of the tropical and subtropical Americas.  The northern limit of its distribution is the edge of the Hualapait Mountains in Arizona and along the Colorado River in southeastern California.  The largest populations occur in Mexico.  Thrives in USDA zones 9 to 11.  Mature cacti tolerate a wide range of habitats.  Mature cacti do not tolerate frost, saline conditions, water-logging, high winds, fire, temperatures below -5 °C (23 °F), and drought.  Seedlings do not tolerate drought, frost, poor drainage, overwatering, full sun, and animal damage.  Propagation is by seed and offsets.  Seeds should be separated from the mature pulp using a sieve.  Seeds should then be cleaned and dried.  Germination rate is over 95 percent when seeds are exposed to light for 8 hours at 30 °C (86 °F) and placed on moist blotter paper for 20 days at alternating temperatures of 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F).  Seeds can also be surface-sown on coarse potting medium.  Seedlings should be placed in a shaded location (in the shelter of a surrounding tree) until reaching a meter in height.  When ripe, fruit split open and later fall to the ground.   Fruit are harvested with long-handled knives before the fruits fall.  After harvesting, seeds are removed from the fruit by a macerator.  Plants do not thrive in cultivation and are mostly collected in the wild (MEYER, PAVEK, EFLORAS, UCONN, ARIZONA, SFSU, DESERT MUSEUM).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit are traded by the Papago Indians (PAVEK).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp is consumed raw after splitting open and peeling back the skin.  Fruit can be dried, fermented, or canned.  Fruit is used to make confections, wine, syrup, jelly and jam.  Seeds are ground for use as flour, made into a butter, used in porridges, or used in cakes  (MEYER, PAVEK, EFLORAS, CACTUS, AZ ARBORETUM).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit is nutritious and contains protein and carbohydrates.  Seeds are rich in fat (PAVEK, DESERT MUSEUM).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  No specific entry.
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Southwestern United States (Arizona, California).  Grown from extreme southeastern California east to south central Arizona and south into northern Sonora (GRIN, MEYER).
5. Other production regions:  Northern Mexico.  Each plant can produce over 100 fruit (GRIN, PAVEK).
6. Use:  Ornamental, beverage base, fruit, seed for food and forage, fruit are used in spiritual ceremonies; wood is used to make fences, homes and firewood; nectar is an important source of honey (GRIN, MEYER, PAVEK, CACTUS, AZ ARBORETUM).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit pulp
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  No specific entry.  General entry is 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel.
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, MEYER, PAVEK, EFLORAS, BLUEPLANETBIOMES, UCONN, ARIZONA, SFSU, CACTUS, VT, DESERT TROPICALS, DESERT MUSEUM, AZ ARBORETUM.
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 10.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  CGZSS for Carnegiea BRITT. & ROSE spec.

1. Salak [(salak palm, snakefruit (GRIN))]
      Arecaceae (alt. Palmae)
      Salacca zalacca (Gaertn.) Voss [(syn: Calamus zalacca Gaertn. (basionym), Salacca edulis Reinw., Salakka edulis Reinw. ex Blume (GRIN))]
2. A small, creeping, tillering, nearly-stemless, rapidly-growing palm that grows to a height of 1 to 5 meters (3 to 16 feet).  Native to Southeast Asia, specifically Malaysia.  When the trunk comes in contact with the soil, shallow roots are sent out.  Roots usually develop directly under the crown.  The trunk is short, contains short internodes, is mostly a subterranean stolon, and measures 1.5 meters (5 feet) long by 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) in diameter.  Multiple-trunks can form.  Basal suckers can form, forming compact clumps.  Leaves are feather-like pinnate, large, erect, and 3 to 7 meters (10 to 23 feet) long.  Leaflets are dark green on top, light underneath, 20 to 70 centimeters (8 to 28 inches) long and 2 to 7.5 centimeters (0.8 to 3 inches) wide.  Petioles, midrib margins, and leaflets contain grey to blackish, long, thin sharp spines.  Plants produce an axillary compound spadix that is stalked initially and enclosed by the spathe.  Flowers occur in pairs in the axils of the scales.   Male and female inflorescences occur on separate plants and emerge from the crown of the palm.  The male inflorescence is 50 to 100 centimeters (20 to 39 inches) long and consists of 4 to 12 spadices that each measure 7 to 15 by 0.7 to 2 centimeters (3 to 6 by 0.3 to 0.8 inches).  Male flowers contain 6 stamens that are borne on a reddish, tubular corolla with minute pistil lobes that shed pollen in the morning. The female inflorescence is 20 to 30 centimeters (8 to 12 inches) long and consists of 1 to 3 shorter spadices that measure 7 to 10 centimeters (3 to 4 inches) long.  Female flowers are larger than male flowers and contain a tubular corolla that is yellow-green outside and dark red inside, a triocular ovary, a short trifid red style and six staminodes borne on the corolla throat.  15 to 40 flowers are contained on each inflorescence.  9 to 12 female inflorescences are produced per year.  Most varieties are cross-pollinated by insects.  Reddish-brown fruit is produced in tightly-packed clusters of 15 to 40 (per spadix) in the crown of the plant.  Individual fruit is a drupe that is globose, ellipsoid, or pear-shaped, rounded at the top, tapered to a point at the base, and 2.5 to 10 by 5 to 8 centimeters (1 to 4 by 2 to 3 inches) in size.  The skin is smooth, shiny, and contains numerous overlapping yellow to brown united scales with small spines.  Pulp is in 3 or 4 segments, and is yellowish white to brown in color, non-fibrous, dry, and crisp.  The flavor is sweet to nutty and resembles a combination of apple, banana and pineapple.  The aroma is slightly sour and pungent.  Each fruit contains three edible, fleshy, shiny blackish, cream-colored or brown seeds that measure 0.2 to 0.8 centimeters (0.08 to 0.3 inch) thick (each fruit segment contains a seed).  A white, translucent homogenous endosperm surrounds the seeds (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP, PACSOA).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering and fruiting occurs continuously in areas where there is uniform water availability.  Most flowering occurs during the first half of the dry season (June to July).  Harvest peaks occur in Bali and other areas in Indonesia from May to July and December to February.  Some cultivars require at least 10 leaves to produce fruit.  Fruit are harvested approximately 160 days after flowering.  Flowering and fruiting occurs 3 to 4 years from seed and 2 to 3 years from suckers or layers.  Trees can produce fruit for up to 50 years (JANICK).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot, wet, humid tropical climates, 170 to 310 centimeters (67 to 122 inches) of uniformly distributed rainfall per year, a high water table, a short dry season, shade, a temperature range of 22 to 32 °C (72 to 90 °F), free-draining soil with high organic matter and a pH of 6-7, and elevations of sea level to 500 meters (1,640 feet).  Grows as an understory palm in Java and southern Sumatra.  Prefers lowlands and swampy rainforests.  Does not prefer cooler areas and higher elevations (lowers fruit yield and quality).  Does not tolerate flooding.  Propagation is by seed, suckers, layering or stem cuttings.  Seeds should be planted immediately (2 to 5 seeds in a 5 centimeter (2 inch) deep hole) into a moist field or nursery with organic matter after being removed from the fruit.  Plants can be replanted in 4 months (during the rainy season) in a shaded area.  Layers and suckers should be obtained from a mature clump in which three to four shoots develop each year.  A bamboo tube is used to plant and encase the sucker.  Stems from 7 to 10 year old plants with leaf sheaths removed can be cut into sections with a lateral bud and planted in the nursery.  Trees should be planted 2 to 6 meters (7 to 20 feet) on a square (2,000 to 3,000 plants per hectare).  Male trees should be dispersed among the female trees.  Trees can be intercropped with other tree crops such as mango, jack fruit, and durian.  Trees should be pruned to remove basal suckers.  To prevent the stem from becoming too tall, earth can be pushed up around the stem to promote rooting.  Fruit thinning is done (6 to 8 fruit per inflorescence) 3 months after flowering to provide space for remaining fruit.  Trees are fertilized to promote fruit development.  Cultivated fruit grown in sandy soils require irrigation or a high water table.  Harvesting occurs when astringency and acidity have reached a minimum level, 160 days have passed since flowering, fruit color changes from dark brown to reddish brown, and firmness and ease of fruit detachment occur.  Fruit are harvested by cutting bunches with a reaping hook.  Under ripe fruit is held for 2 to 3 days before being sent to market.  Overripe fruit is tasteless and has a strange odor.  Fruit should be washed in water or scrubbed before going to market.  Fruit should be stored at 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F) for 2 to 3 weeks.  Fruit is widely cultivated in the wetter areas of the Indo-Malay region (PERENNIAL, JANICK, PACSOA).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit are seen on fresh produce markets in Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Indonesia.  There is an export market for high quality graded fruit in cartons (JANICK, VAN WYK, AGROFORESTRY, PACSOA).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Ripe pulp is consumed fresh or added to fruit salads.  Peeling can be time-consuming, and spines may cause itchiness.  Fruit can be candied, canned in syrup, pickled, and dried.  Fruit can be processed with a plastic cover wrap or an edible coating and held in storage at 5 to 10 °C (41 to 50 °F) for approximately 1 week.  Fresh unripe fruit can be made into salad or pickles.  Seeds are edible.  Palm hearts can be obtained from the plant (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, ECOCROP).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit is low in vitamins and oil.  Unripe fruits contain large amounts of tannin (JANICK, VAN WYK).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  No specific entry.
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  No data (GRIN).
5. Other production regions:  Southeast Asia; Indonesia including Java, Sumatra, and the Moluccas; Malaysia, Thailand, New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia (Queensland); Ponape Island (Caroline Archipelago); Fiji Islands; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in tropical Australasia.  Data on production and cultivated area is variable.  In Java, production ranged from 7,000 to 50,000 tonnes (7,716 to 55,116 tons) in the 1980s.  A mature palm bears 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of fruit per year or 5 to 15 tonnes (5.5 to 16.5  tons) per hectare (GRIN, PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Fruit; leaf stalks can be used to construct walls and partitions; leaflets are used for thatching; bark of the petioles are used for matting; boundary, barrier, or support plant (GRIN, VAN WYK, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  Proposed for 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruit - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP, PACSOA.
11. Production Map:  No entry
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  SAJED (listed as Salacca edulis REINW.)
                                      534

1. Sapodilla [(chicle, chico sapote, naseberry, sapote, sapotier, sapotillier, Breiapfelbaum, Kaugummibaum, Sapodillbaum, sabojira, níspero, zapote, zapotillo (GRIN))]
      Sapotaceae
      Manilkara zapota (L.)  P. Royen [(syn: Achradelpha mammosa O. F. Cook, Achras mammosa L., Achras zapota L. (basionym), Achras zapota var. zapotilla Jacq., Achras zapotilla (Jacq.) Nutt., Calocarpum mammosum Pierre, Lucuma mammosa C. F. Gaertn., Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg, Manilkara zapotilla (Jacq.) Gilly, Pouteria mammosa Cronquist, Sapota zapotilla (Jacq.) Coville (GRIN))]
2.  A medium to large, evergreen, upright to spreading, low-branching, slow-growing tree that grows to a height of 5 to 40 meters (16 to 131 feet) and a diameter of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet).  Trees are shorter in height in subtropical regions.  Native to tropical Central America, from southern Mexico to Venezuela.  The root system is extensive, but shallow.  The trunk is bulky, cylindrical, long, and can attain a diameter of 2 to 3.5 meters (7 to 11 feet).  Bark is dark brown, deeply furrowed, and forms small rectangular pieces.  Wood is deep red in color, hard, heavy, strong, durable, and strong.  Young branches are arranged horizontally.  The tree contains copious amounts of white, milky latex.  The crown is pyramidal when young and rounded, irregular or open when mature, widespread, shiny, dark, and dense.  Leaves are alternate, simple, glossy, entire, thin, papery to leathery, smooth on the upper surface, hairy underneath, pointed at both ends, ovate, oblong, elliptic, ovate-elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate in shape, spirally clustered at the ends of the branches, and 5 to 15 centimeters (2 to 6 inches) long by 2.5 to 6 centimeters (1 to 2.4 inches) wide.  Internode space between leaves is short.  Petioles are 1 to 2 centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inch).  Light yellowish green to white flowers are small, fragrant, bell-shaped, solitary, pendulous, and 0.8 to 1.2 centimeters (0.3 to 0.5 inch) in size.  Flowers are borne on short brown hairy stalks (1 to 2 centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inch)) in the leaf axils of the terminal leaf clusters.  Individual flowers contain both male and female reproductive organs, three outer brown hairy sepals, three inner sepals, a pale green to white tubular corolla, and six stamens.  Cross pollination is done by insects.  Brown fruit is a pendulous berry that is spherical, ellipsoid, oblate, oval or conical in shape, up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) long, 5 to 15 centimeters (2 to 6 inches) in diameter and 100 to 500 grams (3.5 to 18 ounces) in weight.  The skin is thin, rough, and covered with light-brown scurf.  In some varieties, scurf can be rubbed off when ripe.  Immature fruit is dark green and hard.  Mature fruit skin is light yellowish green, brown, or reddish-brown underneath the brown scurf.  Mature fruit pulp is white, orange, yellowish, yellowish brown, pinkish brown, tan or brown in color, contains little to no latex, is smooth, soft, very juicy, and sometimes grainy in texture.  Immature fruit pulp contains copious amounts of latex.  The flavor of mature pulp is sweet and similar in taste to Pouteria sapota.  Some describe the taste as mellow pea with overtones of caramel or pear.  Immature fruit is astringent.  Fruit may be seedless or contain 3 to 12 hard, inedible, oblong to long-oval, flat, shiny dark brown to black (with a white margin) seeds measuring 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) long.  Seeds contain a distinct curved hook on one margin.  Immature seed is white and soft.  Cultivated since ancient times to extract chicle for chewing gum and for fruit (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, CULL, MORTON, MICKELBART, AGROFORESTRY).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  A short dry period and a reduction in vegetative growth aids flowering.  Flowering mainly occurs from September to October in Southeast Asia, in the summer in Australia, April to June (early in the rainy season) in the Philippines, February to April and October to December in Mexico, October to December in Brazil, May to September (peak from June to July) in Florida, and December to March and July to August in India.  In areas such as Florida, Malaysia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, flowering can occur year round.  Fruit mature from fall to winter in Brazil.  Fruit matures in 168 to 240 days.  Fruiting occurs in 4 to 10 years from seed and 2 to 5 years from grafts.  Trees are long-lived (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, MORTON, MICKELBART).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires warm subtropical to moist, hot tropical lowlands, uniform rainfall of 1,200 to 2,500 meters (3,937 to 8,202 feet), full sun, well-drained, deep, loose, fertile soils with an acid to neutral pH (clay loam is best), low to medium elevations of sea level to 2,800 meters (9,186 feet), and average annual temperatures of 14.9 to 36.7 °C (59 to 98 °F).  Grown in the lowland tropics including lowland forests, rainforests, and coastal forests.  The best growth occurs within 12 to 25 degrees of the equator.  Thrives in the poor, wind-swept, low-lying, coral islands of the West Indies.  Grown in USDA zones 10 to 12.  Tolerates a variety of soil types including calcareous soils, alkaline conditions, sand, and clay, drier areas, arid desert regions, wetter humid areas, drought, strong winds, tropical rainfall, high temperatures up to 40 °C (104 °F), low temperatures of -2 to -3 °C (27 to 28 °F), and salt spray.  Does not tolerate heavy clays with poor drainage, saline soil, extremely hot temperatures above 43 °C (109 °F), or frost.  Propagation is by seed, budding, grafting, cuttings, and air layering.  Dry seed germinates in 2 to 4 weeks.  Seedlings require shade, shelter, and staking during establishment.  Vegetative propagation is used to achieve uniform planting material.  Grafting should be done during the cooler, drier periods such as fall and spring.  Mature, non-flushing terminal scions give the best results.  Air layering is done in the warm, wet season.  Upright branches that have not flushed recently and have a stem diameter of at least 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) should be used.  Trees should be planted out into the field when 1 to 2 years old and spaced 6 to 14 meters (20 to 46 feet).  Pruning should be done to remove dead branches and lower branches that bend towards the ground.  Irrigation aids in producing good yields in dry areas.  Fertilization aids growth.  Fruit maturity is determined by size, lack of latex, and appearance.  The brown scurf should be rubbed off to determine if there has been a color change.  Fruit should be harvested when ripe fruit begin to fall from the tree.  In some areas, fruit is harvested when still green and ripened in the dark.  After being cut from the tree, the stalk should be pruned and latex should be allowed to drain in water.  Mature fruit ripen in 3 to 7 days at 25 °C (77 °F).  Fruit should be stored at 15 °C (59 °F) for 14 days.  Trees are tapped for latex every 2 to 3 years during the rainy season (PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, CULL, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit are sold in Southeast Asian markets and other local markets across the tropics.  Florida fruit is marketed locally and shipped to northern and eastern U.S. markets.  Fruit is used as a specialty item in North American restaurants.  Small cakes of latex are exported (JANICK, BARWICK, VAN WYK, MICKELBART).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp is consumed fresh after being chilled.  Fruit should be cut in half and the flesh should be removed with a spoon; the skin is not consumed.  Lime juice can be added to improve taste.  Pulp is used in desserts.  Pulp can be dried, fried, stewed, or placed in sherbets, purées, ice creams, pies, cakes, bread, iced drinks, jams, fruit salads, and yogurt.  Fruit can be made into preserves, wine, vinegar, and syrup.  Young leafy shoots are consumed raw or steamed with rice (PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, CULL, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit is low in vitamins A and C (JANICK).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  A tea made from the leaves is used to treat fever, coughs, colds, diarrhea, hemorrhages, wounds and ulcers.  A bark tea is taken to reduce fevers, diarrhea and dysentery.  Crushed seeds are said to expel bladder and kidney stones.  A paste from the seeds is placed on animal bites.  A decoction from the young fruit is taken to stop diarrhea.  An infusion of the fruit and flowers is taken to relieve pulmonary problems.  Latex is used to fill cavities (JANICK, MORTON).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Florida (12 hectares (30 acres)-1995), Guam, Hawaii (2 growers, 11 trees and 0.4 hectares (1 acre)), southern California, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.  Florida produces annual yields of 20 to 30 tonnes (22 to 33 tons) per hectare (MARKLE, CRANE 1996a, KAWATE 1996b, JANICK, MICKELBART).
5. Other commercial production regions:  Mexico (Yucatan region), Central America including Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador; South America including Guyana, Surinam, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador; southern and Southeast Asia including India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines; the Caribbean Islands (Bermuda, Cuba, Barbados, Grenada, Caymen Islands, Jamaica, the Bahamas); French Guiana; Israel, Australia; widely cultivated in the tropics.  Cultivation is greatest in India (24,000 hectares (59,305 acres)), and Mexico.  20 to 25 tonnes (22 to 28 tons) per hectare are produced in the Philippines and 20 to 80 tonnes (22 to 88 tons) per hectare are produced in India.  Mature trees produce 1,000 to 2,500 fruit annually (GRIN, MARKLE, PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, MORTON, MICKELBART, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Ripe fruit pulp eaten fresh or used for desserts.  Latex from the tapped tree is used for chicle gum and an adhesive; bark is used as a dye; also grown as an ornamental, weed, mucilage, beads, wood for furniture, general construction, cabinetwork, and jewelry, medicinal purposes; home gardens (GRIN, MARKLE, PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, MORTON).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit pulp and latex
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class:  Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI 0359) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  Papaya = Sapodilla; Avocado = sapodilla
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, MARKLE, CRANE 1996a, KAWATE 1996b, PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, CULL, MORTON, MICKELBART, AGROFORESTRY.
11. Production map:  EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  MNKZA
                                      535

1. Sapote, Black [(black persimmon, barbaquois, Ebenholzbaum, schwarze Sapote, sapote negro, zapote negro (GRIN))]
      Ebenaceae
      Diospyros digyna Jacq.
2. A small to medium, broad-topped, slow-growing tree that reaches a height of 10 to 25 meters (33 to 82 feet).  Native to Mexico and Central America (Guatemala).  The tree is related to persimmon.  The trunk is furrowed, dominant, and up to 75 centimeters (30 inches) in diameter.  Bark is black.  Wood is yellowish to deep yellow and contains black markings near the heart.  Branches are in pseudo-whorled tiers and are spreading and slender.  The crown is round.  Pale green leaves are leathery, alternate, evergreen, glossy, papery, simple, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate in shape, tapered at both ends or rounded at the base and acute at the tip, and 10 to 30 centimeters (4 to 12 inches) long.  Flowers are borne in the leaf axils on new shoots and can contain both male and female reproductive organs (hermaphroditic) or just male or female organs.  Male flowers are borne in clusters of 3 to 7 and possess a gardenia scent.  Female and hermaphrodite flowers are borne singly.  Individual white to greenish yellow flowers are fragrant, tubular-lobed, small, and contain a persistent green calyx, an 8, 10 or 12 celled ovary with one ovule per cell.  Flowers measure 1 to 1.6 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inch) wide.  Olive, muddy green, dark green, or brown fruit is a berry that is solitary, large, ovate, round, flattened, oblate or conical in shape, and 5 to 15 centimeters (2 to 6 inches) in diameter.  Immature fruit is bright green.  The skin is shiny, smooth, thin, and contains a persistent four to six-lobed calyx that is 4 to 5 centimeters (1.6 to 2 inches) across.  Some fruit can contain slight ridges.  The pulp is brown, dark brown or black in color, soft, fleshy, dense, floury, glossy, creamy or jelly-like in texture.  The flavor of mature fruit is sweet and mild to bland and somewhat resembles chocolate pudding.  The flavor in immature fruit is astringent and bitter.  Each fruit contains 1 to 10 flat, smooth, brown seeds that measure 2 to 2.5 centimeters (0.8 to 1 inch) long.  Fruit can be seedless (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, LORENZI, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP, UCONN).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from March to May in Florida, August to October in Brazil, March in Mexico, and during the dry season in March in the Philippines.  In some subtropical areas, flowering occurs during the spring and summer.  Fruiting occurs from August to January or July to September in Mexico, and December, January, February and June to August in Florida.  Fruit mature in 200 to 300 days.  In subtropical areas, fruiting occurs from the late summer to winter.  Fruit production occurs in 5 to 6 years from seed and 2 to 3 years from grafts (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot, humid tropical or subtropical climate, low to middle elevations up to 700 meters (2,297 feet), high rainfall, and light, deep soils rich in organic matter including sandy loam or sand.  Grows in the tropical primary and secondary low and medium altitude dry forests of Mexico, Central America, and the Philippines; also grows on alluvial clay near streams or lagoons and coastal lowlands.  Grown in USDA zone 10b.  Tolerant of a wide range of soils including calcareous soils and shallow soils, light, short frosts if protected (-1 to -2 °C (28 to 30 °F), sporadic flooding, salinity, and elevations up to 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).  Does not tolerate strong winds, long periods of frost, or drought.  Young trees do not tolerate frost.  Propagation is by seed, air layering, shield budding, and grafting.  Propagation is usually done by seed.  Seeds should be sown in large bags.  Germination occurs in 30 days.  Seedlings can be transplanted within 2 years of germination when plants are 31 to 61 centimeters (1 to 2 feet) tall.  Plants are air layered or shield budded using mature green scions.  Grafting produces shorter, pistillate trees with good fruiting capability.  Young trees should be spaced 8 to 12 meters (26 to 39 feet).  Young trees are pruned by cutting the main stem to a height of 90 to 100 centimeters (35 to 39 inches) to obtain a lower canopy height.  Dead and weak branches are also be pruned.  Fertilizer aids growth.  Irrigation is required in dry areas.  Fruit is harvested with a cutting pole when the fruit is full grown but unripe (bright-green) and the calyx becomes reflexed.  Ripe fruit usually fall from the tree.  Mature fruit ripens in 10 days from a bright-green to an olive, muddy green.  Firm olive green fruit ripen in 2 to 6 days.  At certain stages, harvested fruit can be stored for several months at 10 °C (50 °F).  Fully ripe fruit is soft and can only be held for a few days in cold storage.  Cultivated mostly in Mexico and Guatemala (PERENNIAL, JANICK, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY, UCONN).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit are marketed in Mexico (MORTON).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Ripe, soft pulp is consumed fresh.  Fruit is cut in half and the pulp is eaten with a spoon.  Pulp can be mixed with other fruits or juices including lime, lemon, orange or pineapples.  Fruit is used for ice cream, custards, cake and pie fillings, beverages, and other desserts.  Pulp can be fermented and made into wine, brandy and liqueurs.  Pulp is puréed and mixed with other fruit purées mousses, yogurt and rum.  In Mexico, a dessert is made by mixing the fruit pulp, wine, and cinnamon.  Pulp can be boiled (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, MORTON, UCONN).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  The pulp is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus (PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Crushed bark and leaves are applied as a poultice in the Philippines.  Leaf decoctions are used to aid leprosy, ring worm, fever, and itching skin (JANICK, MORTON).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.: Minor Production in Florida (0.4 hectare (1 acre)), Hawaii, Puerto Rico (CRANE 1996a, VAN WYK)
5. Other production regions:  Mexico, Central America including Guatemala; South America including Colombia and Brazil; the Philippines, Malacca, Mauritius, the Moluccas, Sulawesi, Asia; the West Indies including Cuba and the Dominican Republic; Réunion Island, Australia; cultivated elsewhere in the Tropics.  No yield data is available (GRIN, MARKLE, PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, LORENZI, MORTON).
6. Use:  Fruit; ornamental; medicinal purposes; immature fruit is used as a fish poison in the Philippines; wood for cabinetwork and handcrafts (GRIN, MARKLE, JANICK).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Pulp only
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class:  Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel.
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI0360) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  Papaya = Black sapote; Avocado = black sapote
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, CRANE 1996a, MARKLE, PERENNIAL, JANICK, VAN WYK, LORENZI, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY, ECOCROP, UCONN.
11. Production map: EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  DOSDI

                                      536

   1. Sapote, Green [(injerto, raxtul, faisan (MARKLE))]
      Sapotaceae
      Pouteria viridis (Pittier) Cronquist [(syn: Achradelpha viridis (Pittier) O. F. Cook, Calocarpum viride Pittier (GRIN))]
2. An erect, medium to large evergreen tree that grows to a height of 12 to 25 meters (39 to 82 feet).  A close relative of Pouteria sapota.  Native to the Central American highlands of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico.  Wood is reddish, fine-grained, compact, strong and durable.  Young branches are covered with brown hairs.  The tree contains white gummy latex.  Leaves are clustered at the tips of flowering branches and are irregularly alternate along non-fruiting branches.  Individual leaves are wavy, pointed, hairy along the upper mid-rib, downy-white beneath, oblanceolate in shape and 10 to 25 centimeters (4 to 10 inches) long by 5 to 7 centimeters (2 to 3 inches) wide.  Pinkish to white flowers are borne in clusters of 2 to 5 in the leaf axils along leafless branches.  Individual flowers are tubular, five-lobed, hairy, and contain 9 to 10 sepals.  Flowers are pollinated by insects.  Olive green, brownish-green or yellow-green fruit dotted with red-brown is solitary, ovoid, round, or ellipsoid in shape, pointed at the apex and/or base, and 5 to 20 centimeters (2 to 8 inches) long by 6 to 8 centimeters (2.4 to 3 inches) wide.  The skin is thin, membranous, and translucent.  At maturity, an amber to brownish-orange color forms under the calyx.  Pulp is orange to red in color, light-russet, fine-textured, melting, juicy, and smooth.  The flavor is sweet and better than the sapote.  Each fruit contains 1 to 2 dark brown shiny elliptic to ovate seeds that measure 4 to 6 centimeters (1.6 to 2.4 inches) long.  Compared to Pouteria sapota, fruit, flowers and leaves are slightly smaller in size (PERENNIAL, JANICK, MORTON, FRUITIPEDIA, POPENOE).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs during the late winter and early spring.  Fruiting occurs from October to February or March.  Fruit matures in approximately 12 months.  Fruiting occurs in 8 to 10 years from seed (PERENNIAL, JANICK).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires cool tropical climate, full sun, well-distributed medium rainfall, and higher altitudes of 900 to 2,100 meters (2,953 to 6,890 feet).  Grows in the Central American highlands.  Tolerates a wide range of well-drained soils.  Compared to Pouteria sapota, trees are hardier.  Does not tolerate frost (below -2.2 to -3.8 °C (25 to 28 °F), flooding, or very hot tropical lowlands.  Propagation is by seed and grafting.  The hard seed coat should be removed or cracked before planting seeds.  For grafting purposes, scion wood should be prepared 30 days in advance by girdling 15 centimeters (6 inches) below the shoot apex and removing all but the terminal three to four leaves.  Trees can be pruned, fertilized, and regularly irrigated to promote quality fruit.  Fruit are harvested hard, when the peel becomes translucent with a brownish-orange color showing through and an orange color is observed under the persistent calyx.  Fruit are allowed to soften before processing.  Mature fruit ripen in 4 to 14 days.  Grown on a small commercial scale in Central America; also grown in the wild (PERENNIAL, JANICK, MORTON, FRUITIPEDIA).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fruit and latex from the tree are commonly marketed in Central America (MORTON).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp is consumed fresh by spooning the pulp from the skin.  Fruit can be made into preserves or desserts.  Seeds are edible and can be roasted (PERENNIAL, MORTON, FRUITIPEDIA).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit has high antioxidant activity and contains a reasonable quantity of vitamin C (JANICK).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  No specific entry.
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Home gardens (MARKLE).

5. Other production regions:  Central America including Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua; Mexico; tropical America.  No yield data is available.  Individual trees can produce 34 to 45 kilograms (75 to 99 pounds) of fruit (GRIN, MORTON, JANICK).
6. Use:  Fresh eating, preserves, home garden plant; latex form the tree is collected and marketed for use in
chewing gum; wood is used in construction, carpentry, turnery, and furniture (MARKLE, JANICK,
MORTON)
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Inner pulp
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruits, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI 0361) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, MARKLE, MORTON, PERENNIAL, JANICK, FRUITIPEDIA, POPENOE.
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  POJVI

                                      537

1. Sapote, Mamey [(mammee sapote, marmalade-plum, marmalade-tree, große Sapote, mamey, mamey-colorado, sapote, zapote, zapote mamey (GRIN))]
      Sapotaceae
      Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn [(syn: Achras lucuma Blanco, Achras mammosa auct., Calocarpum mammosum auct., Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merr., Lucuma mammosa auct., Pouteria mammosa auct., Sideroxylon sapota Jacq. (basionym) (GRIN))]
2. A large, semi-deciduous to evergreen, erect to spreading tree that grows to a height of 10 to 25 meters (33 to 82 feet) and sometimes 30 to 40 meters (98 to 131 feet).  Native to southern Mexico and Central America.  The tree is closely related to Manilkara zapota.  The taproot system can extend to a great depth.  The fibrous lateral root system is extensive.  The trunk is stout and short or tall, narrowly buttressed, and up to 1 meter (3 feet) thick.  Bark is reddish brown and shaggy.  Wood is light, reddish-brown, moderately hard, heavy, strong, and durable.  The tree produces milky, white, gummy latex.  Young branches are densely hairy (rusty red in color).  Mature branches are thick.  The crown is lush, dense or open, narrow or spreading, symmetrical to irregular, and oval.  Leaves are clustered at the tips of branches and are spirally arranged.  Individual leaves are simple, papery, smooth, obovate, oblanceolate, ovate or lanceolate in shape, prominently veined, pointed at the tip or both ends, lighter in color or brown underneath, hairy underneath when young, smooth underneath when mature, and 10 to 30.5 centimeters (4 to 12 inches) long by 4 to 10 centimeters (1.6 to 4 inches) wide.  The petiole is thick and 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) long.  Small whitish to pale yellow flowers are subsessile, perfect, 5-parted, solitary to densely clustered (in groups of 6 to 12), and borne at the tips of branches and in the axils of fallen leaves along small diameter (1.3 to 5.1 centimeters (0.5 to 2 inches) branches.  Individual flowers contain both male and female reproductive organs, a calyx with 8 to 12 lobes, a tubular corolla with 5 lobes, 5 true stamens, 5 false stamens, 5 staminoids, one pistil, and a 5-celled ovary.  Flowers open in the late afternoon or evening.  Cross-pollination improves fruit set.  Brown fruit is a berry that is solitary, ovoid, spindle-shaped, elongated, round, or ellipsoid in shape, pointed at the tip, 7.5 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches) long, 6 to 8 cm in diameter and 250 to 2,300 grams (0.6 to 5 pounds) in weight.  Fruit resembles a large sapodilla.  The peel is rough, leathery, hard, brittle, firm, semi-woody, thick, scurfy, and up to 0.15 centimeters (0.06 inch) thick.  A persistent calyx occurs at the base.  The peel is less scurfy at maturity.  Pulp is orange, salmon orange, pinkish-red, purple, or deep red in color, creamy, soft, and finely granular.  Immature fruit can contain milky latex.  The flavor is sweet, mellow, and almond to pumpkin-like.  Each fruit contains 1 to 4 large, hard, glossy, spindle-shaped to ellipsoid, pointed, blackish brown to brown seeds.  Seeds have a strong bitter almond scent (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, MORTON, MORERA, AGROFORESTRY, DESERT TROPICALS).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from April to July in Florida and during springtime in Brazil.  Flowering can occur year round in tropical areas and springtime in subtropical areas.  Fruiting occurs from March to April through to July to August in southern Florida, February to April in Costa Rica, springtime in Brazil, and June to July and November to December in the Dominican Republic.  Fruit can be produced year round, depending on location and cultivar.  Fruit matures in 12 to 15 months.  Fruit production occurs in 7 to 12 years from seed and 3 to 5 years from grafts.  Trees can live and produce fruit for over 100 years (PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, MORTON).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot, humid tropical or near-tropical lowlands, deep, heavy, fertile soils (clay and clay-loam), medium rainfall of 80 to 250 centimeters (31.5 to 98 inches) per year, temperatures of 25 to 33 °C (77 to 91 °F), elevations of sea level to 1,500 meters (0 to 4,921 feet), light shade to full sun, and a seasonal dry period.  Grown in humid forest habitats and USDA zones 10b to 12.  Tolerates a variety of well-drained soil conditions (heavy clays, limestone and sand), and wind.  Does not tolerate frost (0 °C (32 °F) for young trees and -2.0 °C (28 °F) for mature trees), excessively wet or flooded conditions, poor drainage, high water tables, impermeable subsoil, and prolonged drought.  Propagation is by seed, layering, and grafting (veneer, cleft, or four-flap).  Seeds should be planted soon after being removed from the fruit.  Germination occurs in 2 to 4 weeks.  Removing or breaking the seed coat hastens germination.  Seeds should be planted with the pointed end upward, protruding 1.3 centimeters (0.5 inch) above the soil.  Since seedlings are variable and do not produce fruit for a long period of time, grafting is done for commercial purposes.  Grafting should be done during warm days, cool nights, and low humidity.  Terminal branches or newly developed lateral shoots should be used.  Girdling the branchlet 25 to 30 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) below the terminal or removing the terminal to force lateral bud break should be done 14 to 21 days before grafting.  Planting should be done at the beginning of the rainy season.  Tree spacing depends on climate and cultivar.  Spacing should be 4 to 6 meters (13 to 20 feet) in row and 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) between rows.  Trees can be pruned to remove closely spaced, weak, or damaged limbs.  Fertilizer aids growth.  Irrigation should be performed during dry periods.  Young, developing and mature fruit can be found on the same branch at the same time.  Fruit should be harvested when mature, since immature fruit do not ripen.  Fruit is mature if tissue immediately beneath the peel is orange and some of the scurfy brown surface has dissipated.  Fruit is harvested by twisting or cutting the fruit from the tree.  The stem is then trimmed during processing.  Fruit softens at 25 to 27 °C (77 to 81 °F) in 4 to 5 days, but can be stored for 6 to 13 days at 20 °C (68 °F).  Fruit is grown and harvested commercially throughout the distributed range including southern Mexico, Central America, south Florida, the Caribbean, Australia, Cuba and Southeast Asia (PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, MORTON, MORERA, AGROFORESTRY, DESERT TROPICALS).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Fresh fruit is sold in local markets throughout the tropics.  Fruit can be shipped to distant markets.  Fruit are exported from Mexico to the U.S.  Frozen pulp is exported from Central America.  Seeds are marketed in Central America and Mexico (JANICK, MORTON).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp is consumed fresh by cutting the fruit in half and spooning out the pulp.  Pulp can be added to preserves, marmalades, jellies, jams, sherbets, ice creams, sauces, milk shakes, pastries and various desserts; pulp can be frozen or cooked and used as a substitute for apple purée or other confectionery.  Seed kernels are boiled, roasted and mixed with cacao to prepare chocolate.  Seeds add flavor and increase the bulk of chocolate products; can be ground and used in confections or beverages.  Seed oil is edible (PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, MORTON, MORERA).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Pulp is nutritious and contains moderate amounts of phosphorus, and vitamin C.  Fruit is low in fiber.  Seed may be poisonous.  Leaves and sap are reportedly poisonous (JANICK, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Seed oil is used as a sedative in eye and ear ailments, diuretic, skin tonic, muscle pain reducer, rheumatism treatment and hair revitalizer.  A seed infusion is used as an eyewash in Cuba.  Pulverized seed coats are used to treat coronary trouble, kidney stones, epilepsy, and rheumatism.  The seed kernel is used to aid digestion.  A mixture of the bark and leaves is taken for arteriosclerosis and hypertension.  Tree sap is used to induce vomiting, expel intestinal parasites, and remove warts (JANICK, MORTON, MORERA).
      g. Crop Photos
4. Production in U.S.:  South Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, warm subtropical areas of the U.S.  In 1995, 129 hectares (318 acres) was grown in south Florida (MONTALVO-ZAPATA 1995, CRANE 1996a, JANICK).
5. Other commercial production regions:  Mexico, Central America including Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua; South America including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela; the Caribbean including Cuba, Barbados, Trinidad, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and the Dominican Republic; Southeast Asia including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam; Australia, Israel, Spain; widely cultivated elsewhere in tropics; no yield data is available.  Mature trees can produce 200 to 500 fruit per year (GRIN, LOGAN 1996, JANICK, LORENZI, MORTON, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Fresh eating, beverages and desserts; seeds are used to prepare a substance similar to chocolate; seed oil is used in soaps, skin ointment, hair products, pharmaceuticals, perfume making, as linen starch and cosmetics; medicinal purposes; shade tree; wood is used for cabinet-making and general carpentry  (MARKLE, PERENNIAL, JANICK, BARWICK, MORTON, MORERA).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Mostly the pulp, however the seed can be milled to prepare a bitter chocolate.
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI 0362) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  Papaya = mamey sapote; Avocado = mamey sapote
10.References: GRIN, BAYER, MARKLE, MONTALVO-ZAPATA 1995, CRANE 1996a, LOGAN, PERENNIAL, JANICK, LORENZI, BARWICK, MORTON, MORERA, AGROFORESTRY, DESERT TROPICALS.
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  POJSA

1. Sapote, White [(casimiroa, Mexican-apple, pomme mexicaine, sapote blanche, Cochilsapote, weiße Sapote, sapoti, matasano, zapote blanco (GRIN))]
      Rutaceae
      Casimiroa edulis La Llave & Lex.
2. A moderately large, vigorous, erect to spreading tree that grows to a height of 4.5 to 18 meters (15 to 59 feet).  Native to the central highlands of Mexico and Central America.  A distant cousin of citrus.  The root system is wide-spreading.  Bark is light grey, thick, and warty.  Wood is yellow, fine-grained, compact, moderately dense, heavy, and strong.  Trees are densely branched.  Branches of mature trees are spreading, long, lenticellated, greyish in color, and drooping.  Leaves are alternate, large, palmately compound, and contain 3 to 7 leaflets.  Deep green leaflets are lanceolate to oval in shape, glossy, smooth to hairy underneath, pale underneath, gland-dotted, papery, and 7 to 18 centimeters (3 to 7 inches) long by 2.5 to 5.0 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) wide.  Margins are entire or undulated.  Petioles are 10 to 12 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) long.  New leaf growth is reddish.  Flowers are borne in panicles in the axils of mature leaves or on the terminals of mature shoots.  Panicles are slightly smaller than the leaves.  There are 15 to 100 flowers per panicle.  Individual flowers are greenish yellow to greenish white, small, 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) in diameter, odorless, and contain 4 to 5 sepals, 4 to 5 petals, 5 stamens, and a three to five lobed stigma.  Flowers can be female, male or perfect.  Bees and other insects are the main pollinators.  Greenish yellow to yellow fruit is a drupe that is solitary or occurs in clusters of 2 to 3, is spherical, oblate, oval, ovoid, flattened, symmetrical or irregular in shape, 5-lobed, 6 to 11 centimeters (2.4 to 4 inches) wide, up to 12 centimeters (5 inches) long, 6 to 12.5 centimeters (2.4 to 5 inches) in diameter, and 70 to 700 grams (0.15 to 1.5 pounds) in weight.  Immature fruit is dark green.  Skin is thin, papery, smooth, inedible, and covered with a very thin waxy bloom.  Pulp is white to yellow, soft, smooth, fine, fleshy, buttery in texture, moist, and contains many tiny, conspicuous yellow oil glands.  The flavor is sweet to bitter.  Some describe the taste as nutty, peach-like or a combination of pear and banana.  Each fruit contains 1 to 7 oval, elliptic, or oblong, hard, bitter, white seeds that measure 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) long and 1.25 to 2.5 centimeters (0.5 to 1 inch) thick.  Many varieties exist (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, BARWICK, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, LORENZI, MORTON, CRFG, POPENOE).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from January to February or spring to summer in Florida, springtime, late summer, and fall in California, January and February in Mexico, and April to June in Brazil.  In tropical locations, flowering occurs from autumn to winter.  In subtropical areas, flowering occurs in mid- to late winter and spring.  Flowering can occur multiple times during the year and can be induced by drought or girdling.  Fruiting generally occurs from late spring and summer to early autumn.  Most fruiting occurs from May to August in Central America, April to May in Guatemala, September to November and February in California, May to October in Mexico, late May through August in the Bahamas, and August to November in Brazil.  Some cultivars can produce two to five crops per year.  Fruit matures in 120 days from flowering.  Fruit production occurs in 7 to 8 years from seed and 3 to 4 years from vegetative propagation (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, VAN WYK, LORENZI, MORTON, CRFG, POPENOE).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires cool tropical or warm subtropical highland climates, a mean temperature of 20 °C (68 °F), full sun, fertile well-drained soil (sandy loam), a pH of 5.5 to 7.5, medium rainfall, and elevations of 600 to 3,000 meters (1,969 to 9,843 feet).  Grown in the cool, central highlands and USDA zones 8 to 10.  Tolerant of a variety of well-drained soil conditions including sands, calcareous soils, and clays, a high pH, drought, seasonal dry periods, and frost.  Partially tolerant of saline conditions.  Young trees tolerate temperatures up to -2 to -4 °C (25 to 28 °F) and mature trees tolerate temperatures up to -5 to -6 °C (21 to 23 °F).  Does not tolerate lowland tropics, high humidity, wind, extreme cold, and extreme heat.  Propagation is by seed, cuttings, layering, budding, and grafting.  Seeds are used for breeding purposes and should be sown 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) deep within 3 to 8 weeks of being removed from the fruit.  Germination occurs in 3 to 4 weeks.  Grafting and budding should be done in warm weather (spring).  Young, mature scion wood with grey bark should be used.   Young trees should be spaced 4 to 8 meters (13 to 26 feet) in row and 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 feet) between rows.  After being planted, young trees should be staked or protected by a windbreak.  Newly planted trees can be cut back to 1 meter (3 feet) to encourage branching.  Annual pruning can aid in producing more fruit.  Fruit thinning can increase fruit size.  Fertilizer aids growth.  Irrigation should be provided in dry areas.  Fruit maturity is determined by size and color.  Fruit that are destined for distant markets are harvested at a less mature, hard stage.  Fruit should be harvested by clipping and leaving a short stem piece attached to the fruit.  Fruit are fragile and the skin is easily damaged.  Fruit can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks at 19 to 21 °C (66 to 70 °F) and 85 to 95 percent relative humidity or 3 to 6 weeks at 5 °C (41 °F).  Fruit only last a few days at room temperature.  Trees are grown for commercial purposes on a very small scale throughout the tropics and subtropics (especially Central America) (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, BARWICK, VAN WYK, MORTON, CRFG, POPENOE).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  Sold in local markets and health food stores throughout Central America, Mexico, the USA (California, Florida, and Hawaii), South Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CRFG).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp is consumed fresh.  The skin should be thickly peeled to remove the bitter flesh underneath.  Fruit can also be halved and the pulp can be scooped out.  Pulp can be used in fruit salads, preserves, jellies, marmalade, fruit curries, spicy salsa sauces, milkshakes, fruit sherbets, and ice cream; served with cream and sugar, or made into beverages.  Pulp can be dried and made into fruit leather.  Fully dried and roasted seeds are edible (PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  Fruit pulp is a good source of phosphorus, niacin, calcium, protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C and vitamin A.  Fruit are high in sugar.  Seeds are poisonous when raw (JANICK, BARWICK, VAN WYK).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Pulp, leaves, bark and seeds are used in traditional medicine.  Bark, leaves and seeds are used for blood pressure, rheumatics, sleep issues, and as a sedative.  A decoction of the leaves is used to treat diabetes.  Pulp and bark are used as a sedative and pain-reliever (JANICK, CULL, BARWICK).
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  California, Florida, Hawaii (PERENNIAL, JANICK).
5. Other production regions:  Northern and Central Mexico, Central America including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala; South America including Brazil; the Caribbean including the Bahamas; Australia, the East Indies, South Africa, the Mediterranean region including Spain, Portugal, southern France, and Italy; India, Israel, New Zealand, drier areas of Southeast Asia; distributed in most subtropical and cool tropical areas of the world; no yield data is available.  Large mature trees can produce 900 to 2,700 kilograms (1,984 to 5,952 pounds) of fruit (GRIN, JANICK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, LORENZI).
6. Use:  Fruit, ornamental, medicinal purposes, home gardens; wood is used in carpentry and furniture (GRIN, PERENNIAL, MORTON).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Pulp
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  006 (FI 0363) Assorted tropical and subtropical fruit - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition: None
10. References: GRIN, MARKLE, BAYER, PERENNIAL, JANICK, CULL, BARWICK, VAN WYK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, LORENZI, MORTON, CRFG, POPENOE
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 10 and 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  CSJED

1. Sataw [(petai, sator (GRIN))]
      Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae).  Also placed in:  Mimosaceae
      Parkia speciosa Hassk.
2. A tree that grows to a height of 15 to 40 meters (49 to 131 feet) (sometimes 54 meters (177 feet)) and a diameter of 50 to 100 centimeters (20 to 39 inches).  Native to the Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.  Bark is smooth and reddish brown in color.  Wood is light to medium weight, hard and has a garlic or bean-like odor.  Heartwood is white, yellow-white, or pale yellowish-brown.  Sapwood is paler in color.  Branchlets are hairy.  Leaves are bipinnate, compound, and alternate.  Each leaf consists of 10 to 19 pairs of pinnae that are 3 to 9 centimeters (1.2 to 3.5 inches) long.  Each pinnae contains 31 to 38 pairs of opposite linear leaflets that are penni-veined, smooth, very small and contain a rounded tip, and small pointed lobe or ear at the base.  Leaflets measure 0.5 to 0.9 centimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inch) long by 0.15 to 0.2 centimeters (0.06 to 0.08 inch) wide.  Petioles are 2 to 6 centimeters (0.8 to 2.4 inches) long.  The rachis is 18 to 30 centimeters (7 to 12 inches) long.  Glands are 0.7 to 1.5 centimeters (0.3 to 0.6 inch) above the stalk base.  Flowers are contained in densely crowded pear-shaped to round pendulous heads that measures 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) in diameter.  Stalks are 20 centimeters (8 inches) to 1 meter (3 feet) long.  Creamy white, brown-yellow or green-yellow flowers are small, contain 5-lobed tubular sepals and petals, a calyx, corolla, filaments, an ovary, and 10 stamens.  Individual flowers measure 0.15 centimeters (0.06 inch) in diameter.  Male and female flowers are located at the base of the inflorescence and perfect flowers are located at the top of the inflorescence.  Pollinated by bats.  Fruit is a legume that is contained on a long stalk.  Black pods dangle in small bundles, are large, straight to twisted, swollen over the seeds, and 35 to 55 centimeters (14 to 22 inches) long by 3 to 5 centimeters (1.2 to 2 inches) wide.  Immature fruit is green.  The flavor is strong and somewhat resembles garlic.  Each pod contains 10 to 18 large, broadly ovoid seeds that measure 2 to 2.5 centimeters (0.8 to 1 inch) by 1.5 to 2 centimeters (0.6 to 0.8 inch).  The seed coat is soft.  Green seeds have a strong aroma and a garlic flavor (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT, GLOBINMED).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Peak flowering and fruiting occurs between August and October.  A smaller peak occurs between January and March.  Fruiting occurs in 7 years from seed and approximately 2 years from vegetative propagation (AGROFORESTRY).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires humid tropical climate, elevations of sea level to 1,000 meters (0 to 3,281 feet), a mean annual temperature of 24 °C (75 °F), mean annual rainfall of 100 to 200 centimeters (39 to 79 inches), and well-drained loamy or clay-loam soils.  Grows wild in lowland rainforests, tall secondary forests, waterlogged locations in freshwater swamp forests, alluvial sites, hillsides, ridges with sandy to clay soils, plains, and riverbanks.  Tolerates sandy, loamy, or podzolic soils, elevations up to 1,500 meters (4,921 feet), and water logged conditions.  Propagation is by seed, stem cuttings, and budding.  In some areas, seedlings are collected from the wild and planted in fields.  Seeds should be planted soon after being removed from the fruit.  Germination is high and occurs in 3 to 15 days.  Most commercial plants are vegetatively propagated.  Proper space and light are required for optimal growth.  Young trees require shade.  Cultivated in Malay and Java villages and fruit orchards since ancient times (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT, GLOBINMED).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  No specific entry.
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pulp of the pods is consumed as a food and flavoring.  Half ripe pods are pickled in salt.  Seeds are consumed raw, cooked, fried with curry paste, shrimp or pork, and as a vegetable and in stews.  Young leaves and parts of the flower stalks are consumed fresh (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT, JIRCAS).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  No specific entry.

      f. Medicinal aspects:  Seeds are known to reduce the blood sugar level and are used traditionally for treating kidney pain, cancer, diabetes, hepatalgia, oedema, nephritis, colic, cholera and intestinal worms.  A medicine from the seeds can be applied externally to wounds and ulcers.  Leaves and fruits are used to aid liver diseases, intestinal parasites, treat high blood pressure and aid diabetes (AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT).
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  No data (GRIN).
5. Other production regions:  Southeast Asia including Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Sumatra), Brunei, Borneo, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, the Philippines (GRIN, PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT).
6. Use:  Fruit, vegetable, shade/shelter, wood is used in the manufacture of paper, light construction, carpentry, furniture, cabinet making, and other items (GRIN, AGROFORESTRY).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Pod
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  No specific entry.  General entry is 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - inedible peel.
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, ASIANPLANT, JIRCAS, GLOBINMED.
11. Production Map:  No entry
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  PRKSP

1. Satinleaf [(damson-plum, wild star-apple, caimitillo (GRIN))]
      Sapotaceae
      Chrysophyllum oliviforme L.  [(syn: Chrysophyllum monopyrenum Sw. (GRIN))]
2. A slow-growing, long-living, evergreen shrub or small to medium tree that reaches a height of 3 to 14 meters (10 to 46 feet) and a spread of 5 to 8 meters (16 to 26 feet).  Native to Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and Belize.  The trunk can be single or multiple and is straight, slender and up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) in diameter.  Bark is gray-brown to light reddish brown in color, thin, rough and contains fissures and plates.  Wood is hard, heavy, and strong.  Twigs are slender and rusty to reddish brown in color.  Young twigs contain a rusty brown pubescence.  The canopy is somewhat oval, symmetrical, and narrow in shade and spreading in full sun.  Dark green leaves are alternate, simple, elliptic, ovate or oblong in shape, pointed at the tip, shiny, stiff, hairless on the upper surface, densely covered with coppery hairs underneath, and 3 to 20 centimeters (1.2 to 8 inches) long by 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) wide.  Margins are entire.  Leaves resemble southern magnolias.  Small white to whitish yellow flowers are bell-shaped, solitary to clustered, and on short pedicels in the leaf axils.  Individual flowers are 5-merous, and contain a 0.3 to 0.5 centimeter (0.1 to 0.2 inch) five-lobed yellowish or greenish-white corolla.  Flower buds contain a rusty brown pubescence.  Pollinated by insects.  Dark purple, blue or black fruit is a berry that is fleshy, elliptical to oval in shape, small, and 1 to 2.5 centimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) long.  Skin is gummy or rubbery and secretes a white milky sap when cut.  Pulp is whitish to purple-white in color, juicy and sticky.  The flavor is sweet.  Each fruit contains one seed.  Trees have become endangered in Florida (FRANCIS, GILMAN, PIER, TRADE WINDS).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from July to October in Puerto Rico.  Flowering and fruiting occurs all year in Florida.  The flowering peak in Florida is from summer to fall.  Fruiting occurs in February in Puerto Rico (FRANCIS, GILMAN).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires part shade/part sun or full sun and fertile, moist, well-drained soils (sand or limestone).  In order to fruit, trees require increased light in intermediate and codominant crown positions in forests.  Grows on coastal sands and shallow clay over limestone in Puerto Rico, secondary thicket, pinelands and hammocks of the everglades and keys of Florida, remnant forests, and low-elevation moist, secondary forests and eucalyptus plantations in Florida.  Grown in USDA zones 10B through 11.  Tolerates a wide variety of well-drained soils (including clay, loam, sand, or wet soils), a pH from 5 to 8, drought, and storm damage.  Moderately tolerates salt.  When young, trees tolerate shade and can grow in the understory of low-density forests.  Does not tolerate temperatures of 0 °C (32 °F) and below.  Propagation is by seed and semi-hardwood cuttings.  Plants are hard to establish in cultivation.  Pruning, irrigation, and fertilization encourage growth.  Widely cultivated as an ornamental (FRANCIS, GILMAN, BROWARD, PIER).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  No specific entry.
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Fruit are consumed fresh and used to make jelly (FRANCIS, TRADE WINDS).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  No specific entry.
      f. Medicinal aspects:  No specific entry.
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico (GRIN).
5. Other production regions:  Caribbean (Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, the greater Antilles, Haiti, Jamaica); French Polynesia, Central America including Belize; cultivated elsewhere in the West Indies (GRIN, FRANCIS, PIER).
6. Use:  Fruit, ornamental, soil protector, home for wildlife, nectar for bees, wood is used for construction (GRIN, FRANCIS).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  Proposed for 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruit - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, FRANCIS, GILMAN, BROWARD, PIER, TRADE WINDS.
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  CSFOL

1. Screw-pine [(pandan, textile screw-pine, thatch screw-pine, Veitch screw-pine, baquois, vacouet, vacquois, Pandanuspalme, hala, pândano, bacua (GRIN))]
      Pandanaceae
      Pandanus tectorius Parkinson [(syn: Pandanus veitchii Mast. & T. Moore (GRIN))]
1. Pandanus [(baquois, vaquois (GRIN))]
      Pandanus utilis Bory
1. Nicobar-breadfruit
	Pandanus leram Jones ex Fontana
1. Karuka
	Pandanus julianettii Martelli
2. Pandanus species: A small tree or shrub that grows to a height of 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 feet).  Native to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific Islands.  The trunk is usually dichotomously or trichotomously branched, thick, stout, spiny, and 12 to 25 centimeters (5 to 10 inches) in diameter.  Bark is grayish to reddish-brown, smooth or flaky and contains leaf scars and rows of prickles.  Adventitious aerial roots can extend from the upper canopy down to the ground.  Branches grow at wide angles to the trunk.  The canopy is 5 to 15 meters (16 to 49 feet) in diameter.  Drooping leaves are spirally arranged in three rows and are clustered at the branch ends.  Individual leaves are dark green, lanceolate in shape, contain strong parallel venation, and range from 1 to 5 meters (3 to 16 feet) long by 11 to 16 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) wide.  On some species, margins and midribs are spiny.  Spines are 0.08 to 0.25 centimeters (0.03 to 0.1 inch) long.  Flowers are produced at the ends of the leaf clusters, last one day, and lack both the calyx and corolla.  Male inflorescences are arranged in racemes or branched in clusters of flowers surrounded by large white to bronze-colored spathes or bracts.  Clusters are approximately 30.5 centimeters (1 foot) long.  Fragrant male flowers are tiny, white, pendant, and produce large amounts of pollen.  The female inflorescence is arranged in a solitary head with green bracts.  The female flower consists of a superior ovary of many carpels in a ring.   Male and female flowers are found on separate trees.  Pollination can occur by bats, birds, insects and wind.  Viable seed can be produced via apomixes.  Red to yellow compound fruit is ovoid, ellipsoid, sub-globose, or spherical in shape, pendulous, 8 to 30 centimeters (3 to 12 inches) long, and 4 to 20 centimeters (1.6 to 8 inches) in diameter.   Each fruit consists of 38 to 200 tightly bunched, wedge-shaped phlanges that ripen as drupes.  Individual phlanges or drupes are narrowly oblong to ovoid in shape, woody at the outer end, fleshy on the inner end, and 2.5 to 11 centimeters (1 to 4 inches) long by 1.5 to 6.7 centimeters (0.6 to 2.6 inches) wide.  The skin is dry or hard.  Pulp is bright yellow, orange, or red in color, juicy, starchy, fibrous, fleshy, or oily.  The flavor is sweet and slightly resembles the taste of dates and very fragrant.  Each phlange contains approximately 2 seeds that are obovoid, ellipsoid, or oblong in shape, red-brown in color outside, whitish and gelatinous inside, and 0.6 to 2 centimeters (0.2 to 0.8 inch) long.  Some seeds have a taste similar to coconut.  Fruit resemble a pineapple in shape.  Fruit are important locally in Asia and the Pacific.
Pandanus tectorius is a stout, branching, multi-stemmed, large shrub or small tree that obtains a height of 4 to 14 meters (13 to 46 feet).  The canopy obtains a height of 4 to 14 meters (13 to 46 feet).  Pandanus tectorius fruit are approximately 18 centimeters (7 inches) in diameter.
Pandanus utilis is a many-branched, pyramidal to irregular-shaped tree that can reach a height of 8 to 18 meters (25 to 60 feet).  Trees usually do not obtain a height greater than 8 meters (25 feet) in USDA zones 10 to 11.  Native to Madagascar and Mauritius.  The trunk is smooth, showy, and stout.  Brace roots emerge from the trunk.  The canopy is open, symmetrical, and 4 to 6 meters (12 to 20 feet) wide.  Branches are brown, stubby, upright, and contain leaf scars.  Blue-green leaves are full, simple, linear in shape, graceful, long, thin, arranged spirally and measure 46 to 91 centimeters (18 to 36 inches) long by 8 centimeters (3 inches) wide.  Leaf edges contain small red spines.  Fragrant, inconspicuous flowers are white.  Orange or yellow fruit are oval to round in shape, dry, hard, and 15 to 30.5 centimeters (6 to 12 inches) long.
Pandanus leram is a tree that grows in coastal areas.  Native to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Pandanus julianettii trees are palm-like and can obtain a height of up to 30 meters (98 feet).  Native to the highlands of New Guinea.  The trunk is straight.  Aerial prop roots occur at the base.  Branching occurs near the top of the tree.  Approximately 3 to 4 crowns of leaves are produced.  Twisted, long, narrow leaves grow in pairs opposite of each other, bend at the tips, have spikes along the edges, and measure 3 meters (10 feet) long.  The fruit are round, composite, and approximately 45 centimeters (18 inches) in diameter.  Each fruit contains over 1,000 phlanges.  The seed (nut) inside the phlange is consumed.  When sweet potato is scarce, people survive on karuka nuts (PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, HAWAII, GILMAN, DESERT TROPICALS, BOURKE, FRENCH).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Pandanus species: In many areas, female flowers are produced one to three times per year, while male flowers appear approximately every 2 months.  In Fiji, male plants usually flower once per year from March to May, but can flower during any time of the year.  Female plants flower heavily every second year.  In Fiji, fruit reach maturity in approximately one year, in February to April.  In Northern Australia, fruiting occurs April to August.  In Micronesia, fruiting occurs twice per year:  December to March and July to September.  Fruiting can occur during the off-season.  Fruiting occurs in 15 years from seed and 3 to 4 years from cuttings; Pandanus utilis flowers in southern Florida during the winter; Pandanus julianettii fruit mostly mature December to May, but can mature during any time of the year.  A second season can occur in July.  Water stress encourages flowering (JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, GILMAN, BOURKE, FRENCH).
      b. Cultivation:  Pandanus species: Requires a tropical or subtropical humid to subhumid climate, full sun, coastal or lowland forests, an annual rainfall of 150 to 400 centimeters (59 to 157.5 inches), uniform warm temperatures of 24 to 28 °C (75 to 83 °F), and sandy to rocky seashore soils.  Lowland and coastal species can tolerate high temperatures.  Most species tolerate a number of soils including limestone, lava flows, saline soil, infertile soil, peaty swamps, and light to heavy soil.  Tolerates water logging, wind, salt, and partial shade.  Slightly tolerant of fire.  Does not tolerate frost.  Propagation is by seed, aerial/prop roots, and cuttings.  To speed germination, phlanges are soaked in cool tap water for 5 days.  Viable phlanges float.  Phlanges are then mashed against screens to remove pulp and planted at a depth of two times their diameter.  Another planting method is removing the fleshy part of the phlange, laying it on the planting medium, and burying it half-way.  Germination occurs in 2 months.  Seedlings should be planted in the field in 4 to 12 months.  Cuttings should be 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) long and taken after the fruit have been harvested.  Cuttings should be planted during the wet season.  For cultivation purposes, trees are planted in lines with a 3 to 5 meter (10 to 16 foot) spacing between trees.  Fertilizer can be applied to aid growth.  Trees are cultivated for the edible fruit, fibrous leaves and fragrant flowers.  Leaves are harvested every 3 months when the tree reaches 3 years of age.  Fruit are harvested with a bush knife when a new sprout of leaves shoots up where the fruit is growing.  Trees must be climbed to obtain the fruit.  Pandanus tectorius is a tropical to subtropical coastal species of the Pacific that thrives at elevations of sea level to 20 meters (66 feet).  Grows in strandline and near-coastal forests, grassy or swampy woodlands, and scrub thickets developed on limestone terraces; occurs as an understory tree in plantations, forests, and islands.  Seeds are dispersed by oceanic currents.  Tolerates high temperatures, elevations over 600 meters (1,969 feet), a wide range of light to heavy soils, strong winds, salt spray, and very dry conditions.  One of the few food crops that can be grown on the central Pacific atolls.  Pandanus utilis trees grow in full sun to part shade/part sun.  Tolerates clay, loam, sand, acidic alkaline flooded or well-drained soils, salt, and some drought conditions; thrives in USDA zones 10 to 11.  Pandanus leram requires tropical lowlands and coastal areas.
      Pandanus julianettii grows mainly in a narrow altitudinal band in the central and fringe highlands and on the Huon Peninsula at elevations of 1,450 to 2,800 meters (4,757 to 9,186 feet).  Trees prefer seasonally distributed rainfall and fertile soil.  Grows best along the banks of small creeks, in the hollows that occur around the edges of hills, and around the edges of small clearings in the bush.  Trees can tolerate cooler climates as far south as New Zealand.  Trees are maintained by villagers.  Large harvests occur when there is a drought.  A commonly eaten indigenous nut; over half of the population in New Guinea consumes this cultivated nut.  A potential cash crop and an exotic export crop (PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, HAWAII, GILMAN, BOURKE, FRENCH).
      c. Availability in the marketplace: Pandanus tectorius:  Fruit are sold fresh in local markets.  Fruit juice and preserved food items are produced commercially in the Marshall Islands.  Leaves and crafts weaved from the tree are sold in local markets; Pandanus julianettii fruit and nuts are sold in highland markets (AGROFORESTRY, BOURKE).
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Pandanus tectorius: The soft portion of the pulp is consumed raw or cooked.  Some varieties contain oxalate crystals that irritate the mouth unless cooked.  Unlike other Pandanus species, the fruit are consumed for the sweet, juicy flesh; a staple food.  Fruits are also preserved into pastes, jam, flours, drinks and desserts.  Seeds are consumed fresh and cooked.  Terminal buds are consumed fresh.  In India, a fragrant spice is made from the plant.  Pandanus leram pulp is boiled, and pressed into cakes.  Pandanus julianettii:  Seeds (nuts) are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked; the outside layer of the fruit is burnt off in a fire to obtain the individual phlanges.  Seeds can be cooked in an open fire, hot ashes, or a stone oven; seeds are sometimes stored in mud, water, or baskets before use; nuts are preserved by drying and smoking on a bark platform above the household fire.  Oil is produced from the seed (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY, BOURKE).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  The seed oil contains palmitic, oleic, and linoleic fatty acids.
      Pandanus tectorius:  Fruit are used as a source of carbohydrate; provides a source of protein, fat, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin (vitamin B-3), beta-carotene, and vitamin C. Pandanus leram:  The seed is nutritionally rich compared with the fruit pulp; pulp is a source of carbohydrates; Pandanus julianettii:  Nuts are a major source of nutrition to people of the New Guinea highlands and provide protein and oil (JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, PERENNIAL, BOURKE).
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Fruit is carotenoid-rich and can protect against diabetes, heart disease, and cancer; alleviates vitamin A deficiency.  Leaves are used to treat cold/flu, vomiting, hepatitis, urinary problems, asthma, boils, and cancer.  Roots are used to treat hemorrhoids and stomach cramps.  Fruits, male flowers, and aerial roots are used individually or in combination with other ingredients to treat digestive and respiratory ailments (JANICK).
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  Pandanus tectorius:  Hawaii; American Samoa; Pandanus utilis:  Florida, Southern California; Pandanus leram:  no data; Pandanus julianettii:  no data (GRIN, GILMAN).
5. Other production regions:  Pandanus tectorius: Southeast Asia; region of Malesia (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines), Australia, Northwestern Pacific (Micronesia), south-central Pacific (French Polynesia), southwestern Pacific (New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu); 8 to 12 fruit are produced per year; Pandanus utilis:  Western Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion); Pandanus leram:  Southeast Asia, India, Indonesia; Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Pandanus julianettii:  New Guinea highlands, New Zealand (GRIN, PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Pandanus tectorius:  Fruit; ornamental; coastal protection; windbreak; soil improver; shade tree; fiber (material) from the durable and fibrous leaves used for weaving; glue from the trunk; tannin; black dye; wood; branches and trunks are used in construction; various parts of the tree are used to make garlands; medicinal purposes; spice; perfume; soap; fodder for animals; Pandanus utilis:  ornamental, container plant, fiber (material), fruit; Pandanus leram:  fruit; fiber (material); Pandanus julianettii:  seeds, fruit; fiber (material) (GRIN, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit
9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  Proposed for 006 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruit - inedible peel
      d. EPA Crop Definition:  None

10. References: GRIN, BAYER, PERENNIAL, JANICK, AGROFORESTRY, HAWAII, GILMAN, DESERT TROPICALS, BOURKE, FRENCH.
11. Production Map:  EPA Crop Production Region 10 and 13.
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  Pandanus tectorius:  PADTE; Pandanus utilis:  PADUT;
      Pandanus leram:  no specific entry; Pandanus julianettii: no specific entry

1. Sierra Leone-tamarind  [(velvet-tamarind (GRIN))]
      Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae).  Also placed in:  Caesalpiniaceae
      Dialium guineense Willd.
2. A shrubby tree that grows to a height of 20 to 30 meters (66 to 98 feet).  Native to West Africa.  The trunk may or may not contain tall buttresses.  Wood is dense, hard, durable, heavy, light brown, fine in texture and possesses high silicate content.  Sapwood is white with ripple marks.  Heartwood is red-brown in color.  The bark is smooth and grey to reddish in color.  Red gum exudes from the bark.  The crown is densely leafy.  Each leaf consists of an odd terminal leaflet and 2 pairs of opposite to alternate leaflets.  The lower pair of leaflets is usually smaller in size.  Individual leaflets are elliptic, broadly elliptic, or obovate in shape, blunt to pointed at the tip, symmetrical and rounded or slightly wedge-shaped at the base, leathery, smooth above, sometimes slightly hairy underneath, and 3.5 to 10 by 2.5 to 5 centimeters (1.4 to 4 by 1 to 2 inches) in size.  The leaf stalk is 5 to 13 centimeters (2 to 5 inches) long.  Whitish flowers are borne in large terminal or axillary panicles that are covered with short brownish hairs when young, and measure up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) long.  Branches on panicles spread out widely and horizontally.  Individual flowers are borne on short stout stalks.  Buds measure 0.2 centimeters (0.08 inch) long.  Black fruit is circular and flattened or round in shape, is borne on a 0.6 centimeter (0.2 inch) long stalk, and measures up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter.  The skin is densely velvety.  A collar occurs near the tip of the fruit.  Pulp is orange red to brown in color, and dry.  The flavor is sweet-sour and astringent and tastes similar to a sweet baobab.  A brittle shell encloses 1 to 2 seeds (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY).
3. Crop Data:
      a. Season:  Flowering occurs from September to November and January to April in west Africa, September to November in Ghana, and September to October in Nigeria.  Fruiting occurs October to January in Nigeria and March to May in Ghana.  Fruit matures in 90 to 150 days (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY).
      b. Cultivation:  Requires hot tropical savanna climate, moist to brackish soils, and 100 to 160 centimeters (39 to 63 inches) of rain per year.  Grows in the dense savanna forests, shadowy canyons, and gallery forests.  Found from Senegal to Sudan along the southern border of the Sahel, along transition zones bordering high forest, in riverian forest of the savannah woodland, in coastal scrub, and in riparian vegetation.  Propagation is by seed.  Seed should be scarified to promote germination.  Seeds should be sown just below the soil surface in moist, shaded beds containing equal parts of forest topsoil and river sand (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY).
      c. Availability in the marketplace:  No specific entry.
      d. Preparation for cooking:  Fruit is peeled and pulp is consumed raw.  Pulp can be macerated in water and consumed as a beverage.  The bitter leaves are used to prepare Ghanaian dishes (PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY).
      e. Nutritional aspects:  No specific entry.
      f. Medicinal aspects:  Bark and leaves are used against several diseases in Africa (AGROFORESTRY).
      g. Crop photos
4. Production in U.S.:  No data (GRIN).
5. Other production regions:  West-Central Tropical Africa (Cameroon), west tropical Africa (Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Togo); Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Sao Tome et Principe (GRIN, AGROFORESTRY).
6. Use:  Fruit; wood is used for fuel, charcoal, vehicles, houses, and flooring; medicinal purposes (GRIN, AGROFORESTRY).
7. Part(s) of plant consumed:  Fruit
8. Portion analyzed/sampled:  Whole fruit

9. Classifications:
      a. Authors Class: Tropical and subtropical fruit, inedible peel.
      b. EPA Crop Group (Group & Subgroup):  Miscellaneous
      c. Codex Group:  Proposed for 005 Assorted tropical and subtropical fruits - edible peel.
      d. EPA Crop Definition: None
10. References: GRIN, BAYER, PERENNIAL, AGROFORESTRY.
11. Production Map:  No entry
12. Plant Codes:
      a. Bayer / EPPO Code:  No specific entry

1. Soncoya  [(atier, tête de négre, anona rosada, catagüire, manirote, turagua, toreta (GRIN))]
      Annonaceae
      Annona purpurea Moc. & Sessé ex Dunal [(syn: Annona involucrata Baill. (GRIN))]