Plant · P-509

White Sapote

Casimiroa edulis

White Sapote is a subtropical Mexican tree grown for a peach-like fruit with a custard texture and a food value close to a banana, best eaten once fully soft since it is bitter underripe. Its bark, leaves and seeds contain a sedative compound once used as a folk tranquilizer, and eating the ripe fruit in quantity can bring on real drowsiness. The seed itself is far more dangerous, reported fatally toxic raw, so fallen fruit and pits need to stay away from children and animals. It tolerates a wider range of soil than most fruit trees, from sand to alkaline limestone ground, but needs a distinct cool or dry season to flower well and stops fruiting reliably where conditions stay warm and wet year-round.