The Economic Botany of Manilkara zapota (L.) Van Royen (original) (raw)

America is well versed in the use of a byproduct of the plant Manilkara zapota (L.) Van Royen, yet few people are aware of this product's history. Chewing gum has its origins in the economic botany of the Chicle tree (M. zapota). Throughout Mexico and Central America, the Sapotaceae plant family is recognized for its latex. Manilkara zapota (synonym: Achras zapota L.) is an evergreen canopy tree of medium size (15-30 meters in height) native to Central America, which is currently cultivated throughout the tropics of the world (Castner, Timme, & Duke, 1998). The Sapotaceae (Soapberry family) belongs to the Ebenales order along with the Ebenaceae, Styracaceae, Lissocarpacee, and Symplocaceae according to the Cronquist system of plant classification (Jones & Luchsinger, 1986). Historically, M. zapta was an important source of timber and latex in the new world tropics (Janzen, 1983). The latex is a milk-white exudate produced in laticifer canals under the phloem bark surface (Simpso...