Common names: Golden leaf tree, cainito, caimito, abiaba, pomme de lait, estrella, sterappel, aguay.
Family: Sapotaceae.
Star apple is a beautiful tropical tree, growing rapidly up to 75 feet or more in height. It has round, purple skinned fruit, which is often green around the calyx, with a star pattern in the pulp. Cainito is hermaphroditic (self fertile).
The skin and rind are not edible.
Sometimes there is a greenish - white variety of the fruit. The reverse side of the oval leaves shines like a golden color seen from a distance; that's why it is also called golden leaf tree.
The tiny flowers are purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell.
In Surinam the tree bears fruit year around. The fruits are delicious as a fresh dessert fruit; the flattened seeds are light - brown and hard. Star apple tree starts bearing fruit in 7 (seven) years.
More Info:
Dept. of Horticulture Purdue University- http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/star_apple.html
The starapple tree is erect, 25 to 100 ft (8-30 m) tall, with a short trunk to 3 ft (1 m) thick, and a dense, broad crown, brown-hairy branchlets, and white, gummy latex.
In Haiti, the starapple was the favorite fruit of King Christophe and he held court under the shade of a very large specimen at Milot.
Starapples are generally in season from late winter or early spring to early summer.
The starapple usually comes in two forms, either the dark purple skinned variety with red-purple pulp, or the green skinned variety with clear-white pulp.
The starapple is a very popular fruit in many tropical parts of the world.
Starapples are tropical, and will not survive more than a couple of degrees of frost.
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