Star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito)

Star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito) is a plant species in the Sapotaceae family. It is an evergreen, fast-growing tree that can reach a height of 50 meters, with a trunk diameter of up to 225 cm. The trunk is cylindrical with rough, brown, dark gray, or whitish bark that exudes latex. The wood is reddish-brown to dark brown, strong and hard, with a fine to medium texture, generally straight grain, and a specific gravity of 0.70.

The leaves are simple; their undersides are golden-brown due to fine hairs, while the upper surfaces are smooth (glabrous) and bright green. The leaves are arranged alternately and are oblong to obovate in shape, measuring 3–6 cm in width and 5–16 cm in length. They have a leathery texture, and the petioles (leaf stalks) are 0.6–1.7 cm long.

The inflorescences occur in the leaf axils, consisting of clusters of 5–35 small, long-stalked flowers. These flowers range in color from yellowish to white-violet and possess a sweet, fragrant scent. There are 5 sepals, which are round to ovate, and a tubular corolla with 5 ovate lobes, each up to 4 mm long.

The fruit is round to obovoid, with a diameter of 5–10 cm. It has a smooth, glossy skin that can be purplish-brown, yellowish-green, or whitish. The skin is thick, tough, and contains a significant amount of latex. The flesh is white or purplish, translucent, soft, juicy, and sweet. The endocarp is white and divided into 4–11 chambers, forming a star-like pattern when sliced crosswise. It contains 3–10 seeds, which are flattened and somewhat ovate, ranging in color from light brown to purplish-black; they are hard and glossy.

C. cainito begins to bear fruit at 5–6 years of age. The fruit is consumed fresh and is also used as an ingredient in ice cream, sorbet, candied fruit, and jams. The wood is used for planks, light framing, flooring, interior trim, wall paneling, shelving, partitions, moldings, handles for light tools, woodcraft, carvings, furniture, cabinetry, and plywood. Tannins extracted from the bark are used as dyes. The undersides of the leaves can be grated and applied to wounds as a poultice, while a decoction of the leaves is consumed to treat hypoglycemia. The fruit is used to treat bleeding or can be cooked to help alleviate fevers. The bark, sap, and seeds also possess medicinal properties.

The fruit has an edible portion of 53–63%; the remainder consists of a hard, inedible rind. Every 100 g contains 80.5–82.6 g of water, 0.7–1.3 g of protein, 0.6–1.1 g of fat, 15.3–17.4 g of carbohydrates, 0–0.7 g of fiber, 0.2–0.3 g of ash, 14–17 mg of calcium, 9–13 mg of phosphorus, 0.2–0.4 mg of iron, 0–10 IU of vitamin A, 0.01–0.02 mg of thiamine, 0.01–0.02 mg of riboflavin, 0.8–0.9 mg of niacin, and 6–7 mg of vitamin C. The energy value is 280–300 kJ per 100 g.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Chrysophyllum L. in Sp. Pl.: 192 (1753)
Species: Chrysophyllum cainito L. in Sp. Pl.: 192 (1753)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Chrysophyllum cainito var. typicum Stehlé in Caribbean Forester 4: 118 (1943)
Chrysophyllum sericeum Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 138 (1796)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Cainito pomiferum Tussac in Fl. Antill. 3: 41 (1824)
Chrysophyllum bonplandii Klotzsch ex Miq. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 7: 94 (1863)
Chrysophyllum caeruleum Jacq. in Select. Stirp. Amer. Hist.: 52 (1763)
Chrysophyllum cainito var. caeruleum Jacq. (1763)
Chrysophyllum cainito var. jamaicense (Jacq.) Bois in Pl. Aliment. 2: 409 (1928)
Chrysophyllum cainito var. martinicense Pierre ex Duss in Fl. Phan. Antill. Franç.: 384 (1897)
Chrysophyllum cainito var. pomiferum (Tussac) Pierre in I.Urban, Symb. Antill. 5: 150 (1904)
Chrysophyllum cainito var. portoricense A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 8: 157 (1844)
Chrysophyllum jamaicense Jacq. (1763)
Chrysophyllum maliforme L. in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2: 937 (1759)
Chrysophyllum monopyrenum Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 1: 666 (1824)
Chrysophyllum ottonis Klotzsch ex Miq. (1863)

PUBLICATIONS

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.

Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H., Tan, Y. & Jin, X. (2025). An updated checklist of vascular plants of Myanmar. PhytoKeys 261: 135-364.

Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.

Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (2009). Flora Mesoamericana 4(1): 1-855. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.

Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Pennington, D. (2001 publ. 2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae: 1-364. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.

Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.

Jessup, L.W. (2019). A taxonomic revision of Sapotaceae for mainland Australia. Austrobaileya 10: 321-382.

Leti, M., Hul, S., Fouché, J.-G., Cheng, S.K. & David, B. (2013). Flore photographique du Cambodge: 1-589. Éditions Privat, Toulouse.

Petersen, J.J., Parker, I.M., Potter, D. (2012). Origins and close relatives of a semi-domesticated neotropical fruit tree: Chrysophyllum cainito (Sapotaceae). American journal of botany 99: 585-604.

Santisuk, T. & Balslev, H. (eds.) (2014). Flora of Thailand 11(4): 499-666. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.

Welsh, S.L. (1998). Flora Societensis: 1-420. E.P.S. Inc. Utah.

VERNACULAR NAME

Afrikaans: Sterappel
Banten: Sawo kadu
Batam: Sawo kadu
Burmese: နှင်းသကြား Hnin-thagya
Cantonese: 芝士榴槤
Chinese (simplified): 星苹果 - 金星果
Chinese (traditional): 星蘋果 - 金星果
Czech: Zlatolist obecný
Danish: Stjerneæble
English: Star apple, Purple apple
Filipino: Kaimito, Caimito
Finnish: Kultatähtiomena
French: Caïmitier, Caimite, Pomme surette
German: Sternapfel
Indonesia: Sawo duren, Sawo hijau, Sawo knitu, Kenitu, Genitu, Sawo ungu, Sawo beludru
Italian: Cainito
Japanese: カイニット
Java: Sawo ijo, Sawo apel, Apel ijo, Kenitu, Gemintu, Manecu
Kannada: Haale, Aale
Lampung: Sawo manila, Sawo beludru
Lao: ນ້ຳນົມ Nam2 nom
Malaysia: Sawu duren, Pepulut
Marathi: Tarsiphala
Palauan: Kaimito
Portuguese: Abiu roxo
Russian: Хризофиллум каинито
Sasak: Sabo susu
Singapura: Chicle durian
Sinhala: චිකල් ඩූරියන් Cikal ḍūriyan
Slovak: Zlatolist jablkový
Spanish: Caimito, Caimo, Caimo morado, Cainito, Maduraverde
Sranan Tongo: Sterapra
Sunda: Sawo hejo
Tagalog: Kaimito
Taiwan: 星蘋果
Thai: สตาร์แอปเปิล

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
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