Manilkara

Manilkara is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A close relative is the genus Pouteria.
Trees of this genus yield edible fruit, useful wood, and latex. The best-known species are M. bidentata (balatá), M. chicle (chicle) and M. zapota (sapodilla). M. hexandra is the floral emblem of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in Thailand, where it is known as rayan. M. obovata shares the vernacular name of African pear with another completely different species, Dacryodes edulis, and neither should be confused with Baillonella toxisperma, known by the very similar name, African pearwood.
The generic name, Manilkara, is derived from manil-kara, a vernacular name for M. kauki in Malayalam.
Manilkara trees are often significant, or even dominant species in their native ecosystems, such as East Deccan dry evergreen forests, Central American premontane tropical wet forests, or together with Cynometra, in the Arabuko Sokoke National Park.
Manilkara fruit are an important food item for various frugivores, in particular birds. The red fruit bat (Stenoderma rufum) is the primary – and possibly the only – seed disperser of M. bidentata in parts of the Caribbean. Tuckerella xiamenensis, a species of peacock mite, was described from a sapodilla tree.
Several species are endangered due to overexploitation and habitat destruction. M. gonavensis of Haiti and M. spectabilis of Costa Rica are almost extinct.
Species
Species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of December 2022:
Manilkara adolfi-friederici
Manilkara bequaertii
Manilkara bidentata
Manilkara boivinii
Manilkara bolivarensis
Manilkara butugi
Manilkara capuronii
Manilkara casteelsii
Manilkara cavalcantei
Manilkara celebica
Manilkara chicle
Manilkara concolor
Manilkara dardanoi
Manilkara dawei
Manilkara decrescens
Manilkara discolor
Manilkara dissecta
Manilkara doeringii
Manilkara dukensis
Manilkara elata
Manilkara excelsa
Manilkara excisa
Manilkara fasciculata
Manilkara fischeri
Manilkara fouilloyana
Manilkara frondosa
Manilkara gonavensis
Manilkara hexandra
Manilkara hoshinoi
Manilkara huberi
Manilkara ilendensis
Manilkara inundata
Manilkara jaimiqui
Manilkara kanosiensis
Manilkara kauki
Manilkara koechlinii
Manilkara kribensis
Manilkara kurziana
Manilkara letestui
Manilkara letouzeyi
Manilkara littoralis
Manilkara longifolia
Manilkara longistyla
Manilkara lososiana
Manilkara mabokeensis
Manilkara maxima
Manilkara mayarensis
Manilkara microphylla
Manilkara mochisia
Manilkara multifida
Manilkara nicholsonii
Manilkara obovata
Manilkara paraensis
Manilkara pellegriniana
Manilkara perrieri
Manilkara pleeana
Manilkara pobeguinii
Manilkara pubicarpa
Manilkara roxburghiana
Manilkara rufula
Manilkara sahafarensis
Manilkara salzmannii
Manilkara samoensis
Manilkara sansibarensis
Manilkara seretii
Manilkara sideroxylon
Manilkara smithiana
Manilkara spectabilis
Manilkara staminodella
Manilkara suarezensis
Manilkara subsericea
Manilkara sulcata
Manilkara sylvestris
Manilkara triflora
Manilkara udoido
Manilkara valenzuelana
Manilkara vitiensis
Manilkara zapota
Manilkara zenkeri
References
Sapotaceae genera