Chrysophyllum

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Starr 070111-3283 Chrysophyllum oliviforme.jpg |image_caption = ''Chrysophyllum oliviforme'' |taxon = Chrysophyllum |authority = L.<ref name=powo/> |synonyms = *''Cainito'' Plum. ex Adans., nom. superfl. *''Chlorophyllum'' Liais, orth. var. *''Cynodendron'' Baehni *''Dactimala'' Raf. *''Gambeyobotrys'' Aubrév. *''Guersentia'' Raf. *''Nycterisition'' Ruiz & Pav. *''Villocuspis'' (A.DC.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. |synonyms_ref = <ref name= powo/> }}

'''''Chrysophyllum''''' is a group of trees in the Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358211#page/204/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 192] in Latin</ref><ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40008631 Tropicos, ''Chrysophyllum'' L.]</ref>

The genus is native to the tropical Americas, from Mexico to northern Argentina, including the Caribbean.<ref name = powo/> One species, ''C. oliviforme'', extends north to southern Florida.<ref name=wfo>[http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000008232 ''Chrysophyllum'' L.] ''World Flora Online''. Accessed 3 December 2022.</ref><ref name="powo">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:325770-2 |title=''Chrysophyllum'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2025 |access-date=6 April 2025}}</ref>

==Description== ''Chrysophyllum'' members are usually tropical trees, often growing rapidly to 10–20 m or more in height. The leaves are oval, 3–15 cm long, green above, densely golden pubescent below, from which the genus is named.<ref>The generic name is derived from the Greek words χρυσός (''chrysos''), meaning "gold," and φυλλον (phyllos), meaning "leaf." See {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC |first=Umberto |last=Quattrocchi |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names |volume=I A-C |year=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2675-2 |page=534}}</ref> The flowers are small (3–8 mm), purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell; they are clustered several together, and are hermaphroditic (self fertile). The fruit is edible; round, usually purple skinned (sometimes greenish-white), often green around the calyx, with a star pattern in the pulp; the flattened seeds are light brown and hard. The fruit skin is chewy like gum, and contrary to some reports, is edible. {{citation needed|date=February 2014}}<ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=107005 Flora of North America Vol. 8 Page 245 Cainito ''Chrysophyllum'' Linnaeus]</ref><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=107005 Flora of China, Vol. 15 Page 208 <big>金叶树属</big> jin ye shu shu ''Chrysophyllum'' Linnaeus]</ref>

In 1990 and 1991 T.D. Pennington adopted a wide circumscription of ''Chrysophyllum'', giving it a Pantropical distribution. Later morphological and phylogenetic studies confirmed that the genus defined by Pennington was polyphyletic, and in 2017 De Faria ''et. al.'' proposed that ''Chrysophyllum'' be more narrowly circumscribed, and some species placed in the revived genera ''Achrouteria, Cornuella, Martiusella, Nemaluma, Prieurella'', and ''Ragala''.<ref name = DeFaria>Aparecida Donisete De Faria, José Rubens Pirani, José Eduardo Lahoz Da Silva Ribeiro, Stephan Nylinder, Mário Henrique Terra-Araujo, Pedro Paulo Vieira, Ulf Swenson, Towards a natural classification of Sapotaceae subfamily Chrysophylloideae in the Neotropics, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 185, Issue 1, September 2017, Pages 27–55,</ref>

==Species== {{As of|2025|4}}, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 37 species:<ref name = powo/> {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| * ''Chrysophyllum acreanum'' {{small|A.C.Sm.}} – Brazil (Acre, Amazonas) * ''Chrysophyllum albipilum'' {{small|Cronquist}} – Peru (San Martín) * ''Chrysophyllum arenarium'' {{small|Allemão}} – eastern Brazil * ''Chrysophyllum argenteum'' {{small|Jacq.}} – West Indies, Central America, N South America * ''Chrysophyllum aulacocarpum'' {{small|Ernst}} – Miranda * ''Chrysophyllum bicolor'' {{small|Poir.}} – Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands * ''Chrysophyllum brenesii'' {{small|Cronquist}} – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama * ''Chrysophyllum cainito'' {{small|L.}} – Belize, Jamaica, Cayman Is * ''Chrysophyllum contumacense'' {{small|Sagást. & M.O.Dillon}} – Peru * ''Chrysophyllum euryphyllum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Colombia * ''Chrysophyllum flexuosum'' {{small|Mart.}} – Brazil * ''Chrysophyllum hirsutum'' {{small|Cronquist}} – Panama, Costa Rica * ''Chrysophyllum inornatum'' {{small|Mart.}} – S Brazil * ''Chrysophyllum januariense'' {{small|Eichler}} – Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro * ''Chrysophyllum lanatum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Colombia * ''Chrysophyllum lancisepalum'' R.Lima – Brazil (Bahia, Espírito Santo) * ''Chrysophyllum lucentifolium'' {{small|Cronquist}} – Panama, Costa Rica, South America * ''Chrysophyllum manabiense'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Ecuador * ''Chrysophyllum marginatum'' {{small|(Hook. & Arn.) Radlk.}} – South America * ''Chrysophyllum mexicanum'' {{small|Brandegee}} – Mexico, Central America * ''Chrysophyllum moralesiananum'' Aguilar, D.Santam. & J.M.Chaves – Costa Rica * ''Chrysophyllum oliviforme'' L. – Florida, West Indies * ''Chrysophyllum ovale'' {{small|Rusby}} – Peru, Bolivia, Acre * ''Chrysophyllum paranaense'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – São Paulo, Paraná * ''Chrysophyllum parvulum'' {{small|Pittier}} – Colombia, Venezuela * ''Chrysophyllum pauciflorum'' {{small|Lam.}} – Puerto Rico to Virgin Islands * ''Chrysophyllum pubipetalum'' Sossai & Alves-Araújo – Brazil (Espirito Santo) * ''Chrysophyllum reitzianum'' {{small|Mattos}} – Santa Catarina * ''Chrysophyllum revolutum'' {{small|Mart. & Eichler}} – Peru * ''Chrysophyllum rufum'' {{small|Mart.}} – E Brazil * ''Chrysophyllum sierpense'' Aguilar, D.Santam. & J.M.Chaves – Costa Rica * ''Chrysophyllum sparsiflorum'' {{small|Klotzsch ex Miq.}} – Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia * ''Chrysophyllum splendens'' {{small|Spreng.}} – E Brazil * ''Chrysophyllum striatum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Panama * ''Chrysophyllum subspinosum'' {{small|Monach.}} – Bahia * ''Chrysophyllum superbum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Amazonas * ''Chrysophyllum wilsonii'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}} – Amazonas }}

Formerly included<ref name=powo/> *''Achrouteria durifructa'' {{small|W.A.Rodrigues}} (as ''C. durifructum'' {{small|(W.A.Rodrigues) T.D.Penn}}) *''Achrouteria eximia'' {{small|(Ducke) Swenson}} (as ''C. eximium'' {{small|Ducke}}) *''Achrouteria pomifera'' {{small|Eyma}} (as ''C. pomiferum'' {{small|(Eyma) T.D.Penn.}}) *''Chloroluma gonocarpa'' {{small|(Mart. & Eichler) Baill. ex Aubrév.}} (as ''C. gonocarpum'' {{small|(Mart. & Eichler) Engl.}}) *''Chloroluma viridis'' {{small|(Mart. & Eichler) Aubrév.}} (as ''C. viride'' {{small|Mart. & Eichler}}) *''Cornuella venezuelanensis'' {{small|Pierre}} (as ''C. venezuelanense'' {{small|(Pierre) T.D.Penn.}}) * ''Donella ambrensis'' Aubrév. (as ''C. ambrense'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) * ''Donella analalavensis'' Aubrév. (as ''C. analalavense'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) * ''Donella bangweolensis'' (R.E.Fr. & Pellegr.) Mackinder (as ''C. bangweolense'' R.E.Fr. & Pellegr.) * ''Donella capuronii'' (G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) Mackinder & L.Gaut. (as ''C. capuronii'' G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella delphinensis'' Aubrév. (as ''C. delphinense'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella fenerivensis'' Aubrév. (as ''C. fenerivense'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella guereliana'' (Aubrév.) Mackinder (as ''C guerelianum'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella masoalensis'' Aubrév. (as ''C. masoalense'' (Aubrév.) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella perrieri'' Lecomte (as ''C. perrieri'' (Lecomte) G.E.Schatz & L.Gaut.) *''Donella pruniformis'' (Engl.) Pierre ex Engl. (as ''C. pruniforme'' Engl.) * ''Donella viridifolia'' (J.M.Wood & Franks) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. viridifolium'' J.M.Wood & Franks) *''Donella ubangiensis'' (De Wild.) Aubrév. (as ''C. ubangiense'' (De Wild.) Govaerts) *''Englerophytum longepedicellatum'' (De Wild.) L.Gaut. (as ''C. longifolium'' De Wild.) *''Englerophytum magalismontanum'' (Sond.) T.D.Penn. (as ''C. magalismontanum'' Sond.) *''Englerophytum oblanceolatum'' (S.Moore) T.D.Penn. (as ''C. tessmannii'' Engl. & K.Krause) * ''Gambeya africana'' - (A.DC.) Pierre (as ''C. africanum'' A.DC.) * ''Gambeya albida'' (G.Don) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. albidum'' G.Don) *''Gambeya azaguieana'' (J.Miège) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. azaguieanum'' J.Miège) *''Gambeya beguei'' (Aubrév. & Pellegr.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. beguei'' (Aubrév. & Pellegr.) Aubrév. & Pellegr.) *''Gambeya boiviniana'' Pierre (as ''C. boivinianum'' (Pierre) Baehni) *''Gambeya boukokoensis'' Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. boukokoense'' (Aubrév. & Pellegr.) L.Gaut.) *''Gambeya gigantea'' (A.Chev.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. giganteum'' A.Chev.) *''Gambeya gorungosana'' (Engl.) Liben (as ''C. gorungosanum'' Engl.) *''Gambeya lacourtiana'' (De Wild.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. lacourtianum'' De Wild.) *''Gambeya lungi'' (De Wild.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. lungi'' De Wild.) *''Gambeya muerensis'' (Engl.) Liben (as ''C. muerense'' Engl.) *''Gambeya taiensis'' (Aubrév. & Pellegr.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (as ''C. taiense'' Aubrév. & Pellegr.) *''Jacquinia arborea'' Vahl (as ''C. barbasco'' Loefl.) *''Martiusella imperialis'' {{small|(Linden ex K.Koch & Fintelm.) Pierre}} (as ''C. imperiale'' {{small|(Linden ex K.Koch & Fintelm.) Benth. ex Salomon}}) *''Micropholis rugosa'' (Sw.) Pierre (as ''C. rugosum'' Sw.) *''Palaquium philippense'' (Perr.) C.B.Rob. (as ''C. philippense'' Perr.) *''Pouteria alnifolia'' (Baker) Roberty (as ''C. alnifolium'' Baker) *''Pouteria gardneri'' (Mart. & Miq.) Baehni (as ''C. gardneri'' Mart. & Miq.) *''Pouteria macrophylla'' (Lam.) Eyma (as ''C. macrophyllum'' Lam.) *''Pouteria reticulata'' (Engl.) Eyma (as ''C. reticulatum'' Engl.) *''Pradosia brevipes'' (Pierre) T.D.Penn. (as ''C. soboliferum'' Rizzini) *''Pradosia lactescens'' (Vell.) Radlk. (as ''C. burahem'' Riedel) *''Prieurella colombiana'' {{small|Aubrév.}} (as ''C. colombianum'' {{small|(Aubrév.) T.D.Penn.}}) *''Prieurella cuneifolia'' {{small|(Rudge) Swenson}} (as ''C. cuneifolium'' {{small|(Rudge) A.DC.}}) *''Prieurella manaosensis'' {{small|Aubrév.}} (as ''C. manaosense'' {{small|(Aubrév.) T.D.Penn.}}) *''Prieurella prieurii'' {{small|(A.DC.) Aubrév.}} (as ''C. prieurii'' {{small|A.DC.}}) *''Prieurella wurdackii'' {{small|Aubrév.}} (as ''C. amazonicum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}}) *''Ragala bombycina'' {{small|(T.D.Penn.) Swenson}} (as ''C. bombycinum'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}}) *''Ragala sanguinolenta'' {{small|Pierre}} (as ''C. sanguinolentum'' {{small|(Pierre) Baehni}}) *''Ragala scalaris'' {{small|(T.D.Penn.) Swenson}} (as ''C. scalare'' {{small|T.D.Penn.}}) *''Ragala ucuquirana-branca'' {{small|(Aubrév. & Pellegr.) W.A.Rodrigues}} (as ''C. ucuquirana-branca'' {{small|(Aubrév. & Pellegr.) T.D.Penn.}})

==References== {{commons category}} {{Reflist}}

Category:Chrysophyllum Category:Sapotaceae genera Category:Flora of the Neotropical realm Category:Taxa described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus