Manilkara
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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.<ref>Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families</ref> A close relative is the genus Pouteria.
Trees of this genus yield edible fruit, useful wood, and latex. The best-known species are M. bidentata (balatá), M. chicle (chicle) and M. zapota (sapodilla). M. hexandra is the floral emblem of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in Thailand, where it is known as rayan. M. obovata shares the vernacular name of African pear with another completely different species, Dacryodes edulis, and neither should be confused with Baillonella toxisperma, known by the very similar name, African pearwood.
Manilkara trees are often significant, or even dominant species in their native ecosystems, such as East Deccan dry evergreen forests, Central American premontane tropical wet forests, or together with Cynometra, in the Arabuko Sokoke National Park. Manilkara fruit are an important food item for various frugivores, in particular birds. The red fruit bat (Stenoderma rufum) is the primary – and possibly the only – seed disperser of M. bidentata in parts of the Caribbean. Tuckerella xiamenensis, a species of peacock mite, was described from a sapodilla tree.
TaxonomyEdit
The generic name, Manilkara, is derived from the Malayalam word manil-kara, a vernacular name for M. kauki; it combines Manil from Manilha, the Portuguese name of Manila in the Philippines, and kara meaning "fruit".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp
SpeciesEdit
Species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of December 2022:<ref name=POWO>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Manilkara adolfi-friederici Template:Small
- Manilkara bequaertii Template:Small
- Manilkara bidentata Template:Small
- Manilkara boivinii Template:Small
- Manilkara bolivarensis Template:Small
- Manilkara butugi Template:Small
- Manilkara capuronii Template:Small
- Manilkara casteelsii Template:Small
- Manilkara cavalcantei Template:Small
- Manilkara celebica Template:Small
- Manilkara chicle Template:Small
- Manilkara concolor Template:Small
- Manilkara dardanoi Template:Small
- Manilkara dawei Template:Small
- Manilkara decrescens Template:Small
- Manilkara discolor Template:Small
- Manilkara dissecta Template:Small
- Manilkara doeringii Template:Small
- Manilkara dukensis Template:Small
- Manilkara elata Template:Small
- Manilkara excelsa Template:Small
- Manilkara excisa Template:Small
- Manilkara fasciculata Template:Small
- Manilkara fischeri Template:Small
- Manilkara fouilloyana Template:Small
- Manilkara frondosa Template:Small
- Manilkara gonavensis Template:Small
- Manilkara hexandra Template:Small
- Manilkara hoshinoi Template:Small
- Manilkara huberi Template:Small
- Manilkara ilendensis Template:Small
- Manilkara inundata Template:Small
- Manilkara jaimiqui Template:Small
- Manilkara kanosiensis Template:Small
- Manilkara kauki Template:Small
- Manilkara koechlinii Template:Small
- Manilkara kribensis Template:Small
- Manilkara kurziana Template:Small
- Manilkara letestui Template:Small
- Manilkara letouzeyi Template:Small
- Manilkara littoralis Template:Small
- Manilkara longifolia Template:Small
- Manilkara longistyla Template:Small
- Manilkara lososiana Template:Small
- Manilkara mabokeensis Template:Small
- Manilkara maxima Template:Small
- Manilkara mayarensis Template:Small
- Manilkara microphylla Template:Small
- Manilkara mochisia Template:Small
- Manilkara multifida Template:Small
- Manilkara nicholsonii Template:Small
- Manilkara obovata Template:Small
- Manilkara paraensis Template:Small
- Manilkara pellegriniana Template:Small
- Manilkara perrieri Template:Small
- Manilkara pleeana Template:Small
- Manilkara pobeguinii Template:Small
- Manilkara pubicarpa Template:Small
- Manilkara roxburghiana Template:Small
- Manilkara rufula Template:Small
- Manilkara sahafarensis Template:Small
- Manilkara salzmannii Template:Small
- Manilkara samoensis Template:Small
- Manilkara sansibarensis Template:Small
- Manilkara seretii Template:Small
- Manilkara sideroxylon Template:Small
- Manilkara smithiana Template:Small
- Manilkara spectabilis Template:Small
- Manilkara staminodella Template:Small
- Manilkara suarezensis Template:Small
- Manilkara subsericea Template:Small
- Manilkara sulcata Template:Small
- Manilkara sylvestris Template:Small
- Manilkara triflora Template:Small
- Manilkara udoido Template:Small
- Manilkara valenzuelana Template:Small
- Manilkara vitiensis Template:Small
- Manilkara zapota Template:Small
- Manilkara zenkeri Template:Small
Several species are endangered due to overexploitation and habitat destruction. M. gonavensis of Haiti and M. spectabilis of Costa Rica are almost extinct.
