Chicle
Manilkara chicle

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 25-35 m high. It can have short buttresses 0.5 m high. The bark is dark grey and almost black. It is deeply cracked. The young shoots are slightly rough. The leaves are 6-20 cm long by 2-7.3 cm wide. They are usually rounded and sword shaped. There are 15-25 pairs of secondary veins. The leaf stalk is 1-2.5 cm long. Trees shed their leaves for a short period of time where there are seasonal climates. The flowers occur as 2-5 together on branches from the same point. They are rough skinned and pale brown. The flower stalks are 0.6-1.7 cm long. The fruit are 2.5-3.5 cm long by 2.5-4.8 wide. They are rounded and flattened. There are 2-5 seeds. They are 1.5-2.5 cm long. They are flattened.

There are about 75 Manilkara species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in places with a seasonally dry climate. In Central America it grows from sea level to 900 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Belize, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, South America

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten. The latex is collected by cutting a slit in the bark at an angle then collecting the sap that is used as chewing gum. The sap is boiled down into blocks.

Edible parts

Latex, fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Chicle balata, Chicle macho, Chicozapote, Nispero, Sapodilla macho, Sculu-jaca, Shenc, Zapote chico

Synonyms

Achras chicle Pittier; Achras calcicola Pittier; Manilkara calcicola (Pittier) Gilly; Manilkara calcicola var. columbiana Gilly; Mopania chicle (Pittier) Lundell; Mopania calcicola (Pittier) Lundell;