This tropical fruit tree is Mesple, Manilkara zapota. It is also widely known as Sapodilla, Naseberry, Nispero, Chico or Chikoo. It belongs to the sapodilla family, Sapotaceae, and is native from Mexico through Central America into Colombia. It has been cultivated so widely that it is now familiar throughout the Caribbean and many other tropical regions.

Mesple is an evergreen tree with a dense, rounded crown. Under favorable conditions, it may become a substantial shade tree, although cultivated specimens are often kept smaller for easier fruit harvesting.

The leaves are simple, glossy and leathery, with smooth edges. They tend to cluster near the ends of the twigs, giving the branches a tufted appearance.

The flowers are small, pale cream or greenish-white and shaped somewhat like tiny bells. They appear close to the leaves and are much less noticeable than the fruits that follow.

The tree produces a white, sticky latex when its bark, leaves or unripe fruit are damaged. That latex was once collected commercially to make chicle, the natural chewing-gum base used before synthetic materials became common.

The fruit is round or oval, with thin, rough brown skin that can resemble the surface of a small potato. An unripe fruit is firm, astringent and filled with sticky latex, so it should be allowed to soften fully before being eaten.

When ripe, the flesh becomes soft, juicy and brownish or amber-colored. Its flavor is very sweet and is often compared with brown sugar, caramel, pear or cinnamon.

Several glossy black seeds may be embedded in the flesh. Each seed has a hard, pointed hook at one end, so the fruit should be eaten carefully and the seeds removed rather than swallowed.

Mesple fruit is commonly eaten fresh, but it may also be used in drinks, desserts, preserves and milkshakes. The tree is valued both for its fruit and for the deep shade provided by its dense crown.

The timber is hard, heavy and durable and has traditionally been used for construction and other purposes. Some ancient buildings in Central America contain beams made from related sapodilla wood that have survived for centuries.

Mesple is therefore a tree with several useful products hidden beneath an ordinary appearance: sweet fruit, strong timber and the latex that once supplied the world with chewing gum.

When presenting it to a group, the best feature to emphasize is the transformation of the fruit. Hard, pale and unpleasant when immature, it becomes soft, richly sweet and fragrant only when fully ripe.