Mammee apple

Mammea americana, commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey apple, San Domingo apricot or South American apricot, is a evergreen tree of the family Clusiaceae, whose fruit is edible. The species is a close relative of the mangosteen.

Mammea americana is often confused with the sapote tree (Pouteria sapota), which is sometimes also named 'mammee.

Origin and distribution

The tree comes from tropical South America. In 1529 it was included by Oviedo in his Review of the Fruits of the New World. It was then introduced to various regions in the Old World: West Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, Zanzibar, Southeast Asia and Hawaii. In the United States, the species is uniquely found in Hawaii and Florida. In this latter state, mammee apples were probably introduced from the Bahamas.

Habitat

The Mammea apple tree is confined to tropical or subtropical climates. In Central America the species is found to grow upto an altitude of 1'000 m. It thrives best in rich, deep and well-drained soil but is very adaptive: it also grows on limestone in Jamaica, in the oolithic limestone of the Bahamas or on coral cays off the coast of Florida.

The tree is very sensible to low temperatures, but seems to resist remarkably well to pests and diseases.

Tree description

The mammee tree is 18–21 m high and looks like the southern magnolia tree. Its trunk is short and reaches 1.9–1.2 m in diameter. The tree's upright branches form a oval head. Its dark-green foliage is quite dense, with opposite, leathery, elliptic leaves. The leaf can reach 10 cm wide and twice as long.

The mammee flower is fragrant, has 4 or 6 white petals, reaches 2.5–4 cm wide when fully blossomed. The flowers are borne either singly, or in clusters of 2 or 3 on short stalks. There can be in one flower pistils, stamens or both, so there can be male, female or hermaphrodite flowers on one tree or separately.

Fruit description

The mammee apple is a berry, though it is often misinterpreted to be a drupe. It is round or slightly irregular, with a brown or grey-brown 3-mm thick rind. In fact, the rind consists of the exocarp and mesocarp of the fruit while the pulp is formed from the endocarp. The stem is thick, short. The mammee apple has more or less visible floral remnant at the apex.

Mammee apples' diameter ranges from 10 to 20 cm. When unripe, the fruit is hard and heavy but its flesh slightly softens when fully ripe. Beneath the skin, there is a white, dry membrane, whose taste is astringent, that adheres to the flesh. The flesh is orange or yellow, not fibrous, can have various taste (crispy or juicy, firm or tender). Generally the flesh smell is pleasant and appetizing.

Small fruits contain 1 seed, larger ones might have upto 4. The seeds are brown, rough, oval and around 6 cm long. The juice of the seed leaves a indelible stain.

Propagation

Propagation is done by seed. Germination takes place after about 60 days.

Medical interest

The tree has limited medical potential. Nevertheless antibiotic principles have been reported to be found in mammee apples. Besides, underripe fruits are rich in pectin and the tree bark in tannin.

In traditional medicines of Central and Southern America, powdered mammey seeds are used against parasitics skin diseases. Ground seeds are stirred into hot water to obtain an anthelmintic infusion.

Culinary interest

Though edible, and even delicious, this fruit has pratically received no serious attention worldwide.

However the raw flesh can be served in fruit salads, or with wine, sugar or cream, especially in Jamaica. In the Bahamas, the flesh is first put in salted water in order to remove its bitterness, before cooking it with much sugar to make a sort of jam. The flesh can also be consumed stewed.

In the French West Indies, an aromatic liqueur, of the name of Eau de Créole, or Crème de Créole, is distilled from the mammee flowers. This liqueur is believed to be tonic or digestive.

Other uses

Various parts of the tree contain insecticidal substances, especially the seed kernel. In Puerto Rico, mammee leaves are wrapped up around young tomato plants in order to keep mole crickets and cutworms away. In a similar way, the bark gum is melted with fat in Jamaica and Mexico, then applied to feet to fight against chiggers or to get rid of fleas at animals. The same effect is also obtained from infusions of half-ripe fruits.

In the Virgin islands, the tannin from the bark is used to treat leather. The mammee timber is a heavy, hard but easy to work. However it presents a limited interest.