Sapotaceae
How to identify a lucuma tree
Pouteria lucuma
Dry, dense flesh with a maple-and-sweet-potato flavor, a signature Peruvian ice cream and dessert ingredient. Better known internationally as a dried powder ('superfood' ingredient) than as fresh fruit.
Field marks
These features are typical of the genus Pouteria, so they help confirm you are looking at the right group; the fruit and the details below separate the species.
- Like most of the sapote family, cut twigs and unripe fruit bleed a white latex.
- Leaves are simple and tend to crowd toward the branch tips.
Check a photo
Photograph one whole, mature leaf from above, or a flower or fruit, and the identifier will return ranked matches. If lucuma is the top result, the field marks above are your second opinion.
Leaves, flowers, fruit, or bark — closer and sharper identifies better. Your photo is identified and discarded, never stored.
Where and when you will find it
- Origin / cultivation history
- Andean valleys of Peru, Chile, and Ecuador
- USDA zones
- 9b-11
- Climate
- Subtropical highland — unusually among Sapotaceae, prefers cooler, drier conditions than lowland tropical heat.
- Fruiting season
- Season not documented; check local sources
- How often grown
- Rare in cultivation
A tree growing well outside the climate above is more likely to be a look-alike.
Growing it: seedling or grafted?
A young tree with no fruit is harder to identify and easy to mislabel, so it helps to know how long it takes to reach fruiting age and how it is usually propagated.
- Years to first fruit
- Seedling 5-8 yrs; grafted 3-5 yrs
- Propagation
- Grafting, seed.
Relatives in the Sapotaceae family
Close relatives share many features, so these are the most likely mix-ups.
- Mamey sapotePouteria sapota
- SapodillaManilkara zapota
- CanistelPouteria campechiana
- AbiuPouteria caimito
- CaimitoChrysophyllum cainito
- Miracle fruitSynsepalum dulcificum
Map your lucuma trees
CanopyTwin keeps every tree on a map with its species, cultivar, photos and history, and counts flowers and fruit from survey photos. It is built for orchards, nurseries and collectors of tropical and rare fruit.
More identification guides: free plant identifier · tropical fruit tree identifier · fruit tree identifier · all species guides