Nyatoh maclayana tree
Pouteria maclayana

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A small to medium sized tree. It commonly has buttresses. It can grow up to 27 m tall and with a 2 m girth. The branches are green with brown areas. The leaves are at the ends of the small branches. They are long and rounded. They are 23 cm long by 9 cm wide. They have a wavy and scalloped edge. The base of the leaf tapers to the leaf stalk. The leaves are dark green and shiny on top and dull underneath. The veins are whitish and prominent on both sides of the leaf. There are 7-8 pairs of side veins. The leaf stalk is about 2.5 cm long. The flowers occur in clusters of 6 in the axils of leaves. The flowers are small and creamy white. The fruit are like flattened spheres about 7.5-10 cm across. They are light olive-green. The flesh is orange and fibrous with 2-3 large seeds. The pulp has a sickly sweet smell. The seed are 6 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. The seed is partly covered by a hard shell.

There are about 150-320 Pouteria species. They grow in the tropics.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It mainly grows on the coast. It grows up to 500 m altitude. It grows on atolls.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Indonesia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, SE Asia, Solomon Islands

How it is used for food

The fruit have an edible yellow flesh. They can be eaten raw or cooked.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Its other names

Local names

Ehaghagha, Ngiduiafa, Pohon nyatoh maklayana, Warap

Synonyms

Bassia dubia Gaertn.; Bassia maclayana F. Muell.; Beauvisagea pomifera (Pecklot) Pierre ex Baill.; Bureavella macleyana (F. Muell.) Pierre; Illipe maclayana (F. Muell.) F. Muell. Lucuma maclayana (F. Muell.) H. J.Lam; Lucuma navicularis H. J. Lam; Lucuma pomifera Peckolt; Lucuma pomifera (Pierre ex Baill.) H. J. Lam; Planchonella pomifera (Pierre ex Baill.) Dubard; Pouteria navicularis (H. J. Lam) Baehni; Sideroxylon pomiferum (Pierre ex Baill.) Engl.; Sideroxylon zippelianum Pierre ex Boerl.;