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The evergreen tree is of medium size, 25 to 40 ft. high, and spreading in habit.
Leaves are alternate and palmately-compound, with 5 leaflets usually, each 3 to
5 in. long. Flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow in color, borne in small
clusters on old twigs before the new growth flush. Some 4 or 5 months later the
fruits mature. They are greenish-yellow, from 1-1/2 to 3 in. across, somewhat
flattened or nearly round. Under a very thin, delicate skin is a soft, melting
flesh, ranging in color from white with flecks of yellow to golden yellow, with
slightly gritty texture like pears. There are 1 to 5 large seeds, each with a
thin, white, fibrous covering which is the "stone". The sugar content of the
flesh is high, 12 to 20%, and the acidity very low, so that the taste is very
sweet; commonly it is also slightly bitter, like quinine, especially if the fruit
is picked before the first yellowing. Seedlings differ much in the size and also
the bitter aftertaste, and some produce very palatable fruit.

Another form of white-sapote occurs from Yucatan to Costa Rica and is dis-
tinguished by pubescence on the lower leaf surfaces and by much larger fruits,
to 4 in. diameter. The name C. tetrameria is in the literature, but it seems
very doubtful that this is a distinct species; rather it is probably a mutant,
polyploid form of C. edulis. The only common name which is distinctive is woolly-
leaved white-sapote. Fruit characters, except size, are identical in the two
forms. Both are eaten out of hand principally.

Propagation is commonly by seeds, which germinate in 2 weeks and only retain
viability for a month or so. Superior seedlings may easily be grafted on seedling
stocks using whip- or veneer-grafting. Buds unite easily but are difficult to
start into growth. Seedling trees take 7 or 8 years to bear, whereas grafted
trees should bear in 3 or 4 years.

As a highland tree, the white-sapote thrives in the tropics only at elevations
of 3000 to 6000 ft., although in the subtropics it grows well at sea level. The
tree tolerates almost as much cold as the orange. It seems better adapted to semi-
arid than humid climates, but needs irrigation in long, dry periods. Any well-
drained soil seems satisfactory.