Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev. subsp. bidentata

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Sapotaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev. subsp. bidentata

  • Type

    Type. French Guiana. Without precise locality, (fl), L. C. Richard s.n. (holotype, P; isotype, frag. G-DC).

  • Synonyms

    Mimusops bidentata A.DC., Mimusops sieberi A.DC., Sapota mulleri Blume ex Bleekrod, Mimusops balata var. sieberi (A.DC.) Pierre, Mimusops balata var. schomburgkii Pierre, Mimusops balata var. gutta Pierre, Mimusops balata var. melinonis Pierre, Mimusops balata (Aubl.) Gaertn., Mimusops balata var. cruegeri Pierre, Mimusops balata var. hartii Pierre, Manilkara balata Dubard, Manilkara balata var. cruegeri (Pierre) Dubard, Manilkara balata var. schomburgkii (Pierre) Dubard, Manilkara balata var. sieberi (A.DC.) Dubard, Manilkara balata var. hartii (Pierre) Dubard, Manilkara balata var. melinonis (Pierre) Dubard, Manilkara balata var. gutta (Pierre) Dubard, Mimusops darienensis Pittier, Manilkara darienensis (Pittier) Standl., Manilkara bidentata var. cruegeri (Pierre) Chev., Manilkara williamsii Standl.

  • Description

    Subspecies Description - Tree. Stipules present, 2.5-4.5 mm long, leaving an obvious scar. Leaves 10.3-26.5 cm long (mean length 15.6 cm), often elliptic, apex frequently obtuse or acute, petiole usually more than 2.5 cm long. Pedicels usually subtended by small bracts.

  • Discussion

    Subspecies bidentata has been heavily exploited during this century as the source of commercial balata (American gutta percha, Surinam gut-ta percha) which is produced by cleaning and chemically purifying the latex. Its chemical inertness and property of becoming plastic but not elastic at high temperatures and then becoming hard again when cooled made it very suitable for electrical and marine cable insulation.

    Balata is chemically identical to, but less pure than, true gutta (produced from several species of a Malayan genus of Sapotaceae- Palaquium) and both have now been largely replaced by synthetic materials. However it is still extensively used in dentistry (for root canal fillings) where it remains superior to any synthetic replacement that has yet been tried. The trees are periodically tapped for balata, a process which does little damage to the forest, but unfortunately they are also frequently felled for their durable timber.\

    Field Characters: Field characters. A tree to 40 m high and 130 cm diam, frequently buttressed, and with a straight cylindrical bole. The bark is greyish- or reddish-brown, deeply fissured and the slash deep red with plentiful white latex. The dark reddish heartwood is extremely hard and heavy. The white or cream-coloured flowers are sweetly scented and the fruit matures yellow to reddish-orange. The young fruit contain copious latex.

    Phenology: Throughout the range of this subspecies maximum flowering occurs in the period Jun to Sep, with a second peak from Dec to Mar noted in Venezuela and French Guiana. The few available specimens indicate that the fruit matures from Feb to Mar in Venezuela, and Sep to Oct in French Guiana.

  • Common Names

    Acana-acana, acano, balata, balata blanc, balata bullet tree, balata franc, balata gomme, balata huile, balata rouge, balata saignant, boeroewe, bohiti, boite, boiti, boiti balata, bolletrie, bullet, bully tree, caimetillo, cuberu, leche de platano, níspero, nispero montanero, purgo, purguillo, purguo, purguo bianco, purguo morado, purvio, quinilla, quinilla, trapichero

  • Objects

    Specimen - 1442724, A. Duss 4125, Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; West Indies, Guadeloupe, Basse-Terre

    Specimen - 1442723, A. Duss 4557, Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; West Indies, Martinique

    Specimen - 273538, L. W. Williams 11860, Manilkara williamsii Standl., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta, isotype; South America, Venezuela, Bolívar

    Specimen - 1312958, L. B. Smith 3204, Ginoria americana var. spinosa (Griseb.) S.A.Graham, Lythraceae (241.0), Magnoliophyta; West Indies, Cuba, Villa Clara

    Pending, T. D. Pennington 12148, Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, French Guiana

    Specimen - 01177231, R. de Lemos Fróes 22982, Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev. subsp. bidentata, Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, Brazil, Roraima

  • Distribution

    Panama, Guadeloupe, Martinique, W Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, French Guiana, Amazonian Peru, and Brazil (Para, Roraima). A tree of mixed lowland rainforest on non-flooded land, from sea level to ca. 500 m altitude.

    Panama Central America| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Colón Panama Central America| San Blás Panama Central America| Guadeloupe South America| Martinique South America| Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Miranda Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America|