CHIKU / SAPODILLA (Manilkara Zapota)
Chiku is also known as Sapodilla and Nispero, the chiku is from the plant family Sapotaceae and is a native of Central America, Mexico and the West Indies.
It is a slow growing long-lived evergreen fruit tree capable of growing up to 20 meters tall. It needs little maintenance and can produce an abundance of fruit. The tree has a pyramidal shape when young and becomes wide-spreading when it matures. The leaves are shiny and spirally clustered around the tips of the stems. They are simple, oval in shape and range from 6-12 centimeters long. The small bell like yellowy brown flowers have white inner petals. The flowers are bi-sexual and thus are able to fertilize themselves. Flowering is throughout the year. The fruits are round or oblong, brownish in colour. When fully ripe, its soft, reddich brown flesh is juicy, fragrant and very sweet. To capture the full flavor, the fruit, served as desserts, must be eaten as soon as it is ripe as the fruits bruise easily and cannot be processed. However, the juice can be made into syrup or fermented into wine or vinegar. Its high tannin content makes it a useful source for dyes. In traditional medicine, its juice can be applied as a purgative to treat diarrhea. The older leaves can be boiled as a drink to cure coughs and colds. The tree can be propagated by marcotting or grown from seeds.
Do you know… all parts of the plant are able to produce a white gummy latex called “chicles”, which is the main ingredient for chewing gum. For those of you who recalls, one of the very first popular chewing brand is called CHICLETS.
It is a slow growing long-lived evergreen fruit tree capable of growing up to 20 meters tall. It needs little maintenance and can produce an abundance of fruit. The tree has a pyramidal shape when young and becomes wide-spreading when it matures. The leaves are shiny and spirally clustered around the tips of the stems. They are simple, oval in shape and range from 6-12 centimeters long. The small bell like yellowy brown flowers have white inner petals. The flowers are bi-sexual and thus are able to fertilize themselves. Flowering is throughout the year. The fruits are round or oblong, brownish in colour. When fully ripe, its soft, reddich brown flesh is juicy, fragrant and very sweet. To capture the full flavor, the fruit, served as desserts, must be eaten as soon as it is ripe as the fruits bruise easily and cannot be processed. However, the juice can be made into syrup or fermented into wine or vinegar. Its high tannin content makes it a useful source for dyes. In traditional medicine, its juice can be applied as a purgative to treat diarrhea. The older leaves can be boiled as a drink to cure coughs and colds. The tree can be propagated by marcotting or grown from seeds.
Do you know… all parts of the plant are able to produce a white gummy latex called “chicles”, which is the main ingredient for chewing gum. For those of you who recalls, one of the very first popular chewing brand is called CHICLETS.