Study of Angioaperm Family Sapotaceae

1. SAPOTACEAE
Shino Sreekumar
2nd MSc Botany
215

2. Systamatic Position
Class : Dicotyledons
Subclass : Gamopetalae
Series : Heteromerae
Order : Ebenales
Family : Sapotaceae

3. Habit and Distribution
Mostly the members are in tree habit which
posses evergreen leaves. This family is
represented by 40 genera and 600 species
which are usually tropical in distribution,
mainly from eastern to southern regions.

4. Common plants
Acharas sapota Madhuca latifolia

5. Chrysophyllum roxburghii
Chrysophyllum cainito

6. Mimosops elengi
Madhuca nerifolia

7. Sideroxylon acunae
CHARACTERSTIC
FEATURES OF FAMILY
Sarcosperma sp.
**Sarcosperma

8. The “sap” in the family name means white. Latex, so the characteristic feature of
this family the presence of white sticky latex in all parts of the tree
Important features are,
• Presence of laticiferous ducts
• leathery simple leaves.
• Flowers are polycyclic and hypogynous
• Petalloid appendages of the corolla
• Many chambered ovary with single ovule in each chamber on axile
placentation
• Fruit is berry

9. LEAVES
Simple, Entire, White latex present,
Leathery, sometimes stipulates
Alternate and spiral in arrangement,
Usually crowded at the apex of branches

10. INFLORESCENCE
Flowers are solitary or in
cymose or in simple or
compound panicle

11. FLOWERS
• Bisexual
• Actinomorphic
• Hypogynous
• Dichlamydeous
• Polycyclic-
Pentamerous
• Bracteate
• Perfect and
Complete
Flower of
Mimospus elengi

12. Calyx
• Sepals 4-5
• Polysepalous
• Imbricate or Valvate
aestivation
• Sometimes basally connate
• Arranged in two isomerous
whorls or 5 in one whorl
• Mimosops 4+4 with outer whorl
valvate and inner one imbricate
• Spodilla 3+3 and slightly united at
base

13. Corolla
• Petals 4-8, arranged in one whorl
• They are united to form a short tube
at the base
• Lateral and dorsal appendages are
produced, which give a false
appearence of corolla lobe
• Valvate or Imbricate or Twisted
aestivation

14. Androecium
• Stamens numerous in number
(more than 10)
• Epipetalous stamen
• Outer 2 or 3 whorls are sterile
petalloid staminodes
• Inner whorl are only fertile
• Anthers are dithecous, extrose
and dehiscing by longitudinal
slit
Gynoecium
• Ovary superior
• Carpels 5-10, syncarpous
• Carpel number is double as the
number of stamens in whorl
• Sometimes ovary base is
surrounded by a scaly disc
• Ovules are 5-10 and axile
placentation
• Style is very thick protrude out at
the bud stage and stigma is pointed

15. SEED AND FRUIT
• Fruit is often berry; 1-10 seeded usually
endospermic outerlayer is
• Seed has a shining, hard testa with broad
hilum
POLLINATION
Insect pollinated and fruits
are dispersed by birds,
animals or water currents

16. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
• Edible fruit :
Achras sapota, Manilkara hexandra, Chrysophyllum
cainito(star apple) etc..
• Chewing Gum : Obtained from the coagulated resinous latex from
the bark of sapodilla
• Gutta-percha : a thermoplastic used in insulation purpose,
obtained from Palaquium mimusops

17. Gutta percha
• Timber : Valuable tiber obtained from Sideroxylon acunae, Manilkara
hexandra, Madhuca etc.
• Achars sapota – chicle gum in dental surgery.
• Mimospus elengi – highly effective in curing
pileus
• Madhuca indica – oil is used for the treatment
of skin disease and rheumatism
• Medicinal value

18. • Oils :- Madhuca indica and Diploknema butygraceae seed oil
used in manufacture of soaps and candles

19. SYSTEMATIC AND PHYLOGENY
Sapotaceae are closely allied to Ebenaceae and related to
Strychaceae, Symplocaceae and Lissocarpaceae. Hallier has placed the
family Sapotaceae in a monotypic order Sapotales. Bentham and
Hooker included the family in the order Ebenales which has been
accepted by Hutchinson (1959), Takhtajan (1980, 91) and Cronquist
(1981). Thorne (1991, 2001) kept it in the order Styracales. APG
classification places the family Sapotaceae in APG Group 4: Eudicots-
Asterids in the order Ericales.

20. THANK YOU