Pouteria is related to Manilkara, another genus that produces hard and heavy woods (e.g. balatá, M. bidentata) used commonly for tropical construction, as well as edible fruit (such as sapodilla, M. zapota).
Many species, such as Pouteria maclayana,[3] have edible fruits and are important foods, seasonally. Some are being commercially collected and sold on local markets or packed in cans.
Pouteria species yield hard, heavy, resilient woods used as firewood and timber, but particularly in outdoor and naval construction, such as dockpilings, deckings, etc. Some species, such as abiu (P. caimito), are considered to be shipworm resistant, but this depends on the silica content, which may vary from 0.0-0.9%. The weight by volume (at 12% moisture content) of Pouteria wood can be in excess of 1140kg/m3 (71lb/ft3; thus, the wood sinks in water. The wood of Pouteria species is prone to considerable movement and warping when it dries out, but in its main use, naval construction, this is not a problem, since the wood never gets really dry.
The vessel elements are relatively small and usually di- to quadriseriate; the medullary rays are fine and close together. Pouteria woods are capable of attaining an excellent polish using fine-grained sandpaper and possibly some wax. They can sometimes show an attractive figure of dark stripes against a sandy to mid-brown background colour. However, the wood is hardly used for furniture because it is so dense that items made from it would be difficult to transport. Moreover, it is nearly impossible to work using hand tools. Even using power tools, working these woods presents some problems, as well, but given some patience and practical knowledge, these can easily be solved.
For the silica to be effective against shipworms, it needs to dry to some degree to harden. When the wood is continually waterlogged, this process may take place very slowly or not at all, leaving the wood vulnerable.
Pouteria is a "wastebasket taxon", and its size is continually being expanded or decreased. The segregatedLabatia, described by Olof Swartz in 1788 and named after the French botanist Jean-Baptiste Labat, was maintained as a distinct entity until the 1930s, when it was finally synonymized with Pouteria for good. Most segregated genera that were merged with Pouteria again were established by Henri Ernest Baillon and Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre.[1]
Pouteria tenuisepalaPires & T.D.Penn. – French Guiana and northern Brazil (Amapá and Pará)
Pouteria torta(Mart.) Radlk.– Abiurana – southern Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay, and southern Brazil
subsp. tuberculata(Sleumer) T.D.Penn.– Red Abiorana – southern Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, northern Brazil, and French Guiana
Pouteria trifidaAlves-Araújo & M.Alves – northeastern Brazil (southeastern Bahia)
Due to the uncertainty regarding its actual content, the number of synonyms of Pouteria is massive. Plants of the World Online currently treats the following genera as synonyms.[2]
BarylucumaDucke (1925)
CaleatiaMart. ex Steud. (1841), pro syn.
CaramuriAubrév. & Pellegr. (1961)
ChaetocarpusSchreb. (1789), nom. rej.
DiscolumaBaill. (1891)
EglerodendronAubrév. & Pellegr. (1962)
EnglerellaPierre (1891)
EremolumaBaill. (1891)
FranchetellaPierre (1890)
GayellaPierre (1890)
GomphilumaBaill. (1891)
GuapebaGomes (1812)
GuapebeiraGomes (1803)
IchthyophoraBaehni (1964)
KrugellaPierre (1891)
LabatiaSw. (1788), nom. cons.
LeiolumaBaill. (1891)
LucumaMolina (1782)
MicrolumaBaill. (1891)
MyrtilumaBaill. (1891)
NemalumaBaill. (1891)
NeolabatiaAubrév. (1972), nom. illeg.
NeoxytheceAubrév. & Pellegr. (1961)
OxytheceMiq. (1863), nom. illeg.
ParalabatiaPierre (1890)
PeteniodendronLundell (1976)
PiresodendronAubrév. ex Le Thomas (1983)
PodolumaBaill. (1891)
ProzetiaNeck. (1790), opus utique oppr.
PseudocladiaPierre (1891)
PseudolabatiaAubrév. & Pellegr. (1962)
PseudoxytheceAubrév. (1972)
RadlkoferellaPierre (1890)
RichardellaPierre (1890)
SandwithiodoxaAubrév. & Pellegr. (1962)
SyzygiopsisDucke (1925)
UrbanellaPierre (1890)
The following genera are sometimes included in Pouteria.[1] Their current treatment by Plants of the World Online is included here.
Chusquea is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina.
Brassia is a genus of orchids classified in the subtribe Oncidiinae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America, with one species extending into Florida.
The Sapotaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to the order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in around 65 genera. Their distribution is pantropical.
Chrysophyllum is a group of trees in the Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.
Manilkara is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. A close relative is the genus Pouteria.
Conceveiba is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, first described as a genus in 1775. It is native to South America and Central America.
Conceveiba tristigmataJ.Murillo - Colombia, Venezuela, NW Brazil
Sideroxylon is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (sideros), meaning "iron", and ξύλον (xylon), meaning "wood."
Aspidosperma is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1824. It is native to South America, Central America, southern Mexico, and the West Indies.
Asplundia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Cyclanthaceae. They are distributed in the Neotropical realm from southern Mexico to southern Brazil.
Eschweilera is a genus of woody plants in the family Lecythidaceae first described as a genus in 1828. It is native to southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and Trinidad.
Micropholis is genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae, described in 1891.
Aegiphila is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1763. It was formerly classified in the Verbenaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America, the West Indies, and Florida.
Pradosia is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1872.
Rhodospatha is a genus of plant in family Araceae. It is native to South America, Central America, and southern Mexico.
Sarcaulus is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1882.
Chrysophylloideae is a subfamily of flowering plants in the chicle family, Sapotaceae.
Pausandra is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described in 1870. It is native to Central America and South America.
Pausandra fordiiSecco - Amapá, French Guiana
Pausandra hirsutaLanj. - Peru, Brazil, Bolivia (Pando), Colombia (Amazonas)
Pausandra macropetalaDucke - Brazil, Peru (Loreto), Venezuela (Amazonas)
Pausandra macrostachyaDucke - Pará
Pausandra martiniBaill. - French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil
Pausandra megalophyllaMüll.Arg. - Rio de Janeiro
Pausandra morisiana(Casar.) Radlk. - Brazil
Pausandra trianae(Müll.Arg.) Baill. - widespread from Honduras to Bolivia
Ecclinusa is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1839.
Elaeoluma is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1891.
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