Fruit Identification Help

[Johnny Redland]

So my aunt has a tree in her backyard planted around 30 years back by the former owners (a Jamaican couple).  After all these years, I noticed it looked awfully like my sapote trees, especially by the new flush and flowers.  On the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a fruit.  The fruit looks like a type of Mammea  Americana (Mamey Apple) but the seeds look like Sapote Seeds and I cannot find any photos anywhere for a Mamey Apple that has anything other than the large brown woody pit looking seeds.  I cut the fruit open (pre-ripe fruit) and the orange tinge also makes me think its a mamey apple.  Too bitter to determine via taste at this point.   Its a massive tree that only produces a handful of fruit every year.  My guess is that if its a mamey apple tree, it must be a female and somehow a male in the area is scarcely helping to pollinate it.  But the leaves also look more like a sapote than a mamey apple. I'm confused.  Any thoughts?

[Chandramohan]

It is Manilkara sapote or commonly called sapodilla. I have tree which produces fruits like the one in the photo.

[TnTrobbie]

Sapodilla.

[Johnny Redland]

It is Manilkara sapote or commonly called sapodilla. I have tree which produces fruits like the one in the photo.

These fruits are the size of a softball and the flesh is orange. I have several different types of sapodillia on my property, none of which look anything like this one. Can you post a pic of one that looks similar?

[murahilin]

It is Manilkara sapote or commonly called sapodilla. I have tree which produces fruits like the one in the photo.

These fruits are the size of a softball and the flesh is orange. I have several different types of sapodillia on my property, none of which look anything like this one. Can you post a pic of one that looks similar?

It's sapodilla. Stop doubting everyone. Google sapodilla and you will find some that look like that.

[Johnny Redland]

Any reason why the tree might be fruiting so lightly and irregularly? It looks healthy and has a ton of flowers everywhere. It's a 40ft+ mature tree in direct sun. Thanks!

[skhan]

Any reason why the tree might be fruiting so lightly and irregularly? It looks healthy and has a ton of flowers everywhere. It's a 40ft+ mature tree in direct sun. Thanks!

I'd assume it's a seedling tree by the way you've described it.
That comes with territory. You might hit gold, more than likely it won't give you much.
My grandparents had a 20ft tree that looked beautiful, only problem is it gave them a few fruit a year. They got a 3 gallon alano and basically got as much from it and it's only been 3 years.

[TnTrobbie]

Are most of the fruit that "tomato" shaped Johnny? I like the shape of that sappo.

[fruitlovers]

Any reason why the tree might be fruiting so lightly and irregularly? It looks healthy and has a ton of flowers everywhere. It's a 40ft+ mature tree in direct sun. Thanks!

Probably it's underfed. Give it some fert.

[Johnny Redland]

Are most of the fruit that "tomato" shaped Johnny? I like the shape of that sappo.

Yes, the young fruit are round like Chico varieties and then kinda get tomatoe shaped as they get larger.  I'm just surprised at the size. I've never seen them get this large in the rounder varieties.  I'm gonna fertilize and water heavily now that its starting to flower and see if that changes the game as far as yield and fruit quality.

[fruitlovers]

There's lots of different varieties of sapodilla, coming in many different sizes and shapes.

[Mike T]

I have seen big round sapodillas like that and cant recall if they were labelled as Russell or ponderosa.

[Cookie Monster]

Generally speaking, a tree which produces light crops will produce larger fruits and vice versa.

Seedling trees can be unproductive like that. A neighbor of ours has a giant avocado tree (from seed) which produces 3 or 4 fruits per year despite wide scale flowering. Imperfect flowers maybe?