| Abiu | |
| Pouteria caimito | |
| a.k.a. yellow star apple, caimito, camio (Columbia), luma (Ecuador), temare (Venezuela) |
Round-oval, soft, yellow colored fruit, usually 2-4" in diameter with a sweet and pleasant white translucent pulp.
Description: Medium to large-sized tree from 30-120ft. Fruits generally ripen in March and April. Mature trees may produce anywhere from 100-1000 fruits a year.
Hardiness: Tropical, less hardy than the canistel and sapodilla.
Growing Environment: Needs a year-round moist and warm climate for good growth. Enjoys wet soil.
Propagation: Almost always by seeds, which germinate quickly when fresh. Seedling trees show considerable variation in fruit growth. Fruiting from seed can be expected in 3+ years. Grafting and air-layering are used to propagate superior strains.
Uses: The fruits are mostly eaten fresh and occasionally used in ice creams. Unripe fruits contain a gummy latex.
Native Range: Native to the Amazon headwaters and eastern slopes of the Andes mountains. Now found wild throughout much of Amazonia. It is not usually grown commercially, but is a common dooryard tree in the backyards and city streets of many Brazilian towns.