Mammee apple is an evergreen tropical tree grown for its edible fruit, native to the Caribbean and Central America. It needs a warm, frost-free climate and well-drained soil, and it is sensitive to low temperatures.
Family
Calophyllaceae (Calophyll family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while young and during dry spells, but let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Rich, deep, well-drained soil; tolerates limestone and coral-based ground.
Temperature
Tropical, roughly 20–32 °C; very sensitive to cold, protect below about 10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
S. Mexico to Guatemala, Caribbean
Climate
wet tropical
About
Mammea americana, commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mammey, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been classified as belonging to the family Guttiferae Juss. (1789), which would make it a relative of the mangosteen.
In certain Latin American countries, Mammea americana is referred to as "yellow mamey" (Spanish: mamey amarillo) to distinguish it from the unrelated but similar-looking Pouteria sapota, whose fruit is usually called "red mamey" (mamey colorado or mamey rojo).
Where it grows
Native to the Caribbean the tree is also widely cultivated in the tropics and Central America.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mammea americana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.