Pouteria campechiana is an erect tree growing about 25 ft (8 m) tall although in favorable conditions could reach 90 to 100 ft (27-30 m) in height.
The trunk has brown, wrinkled bark and abundant white, gummy latex. The evergreen leaves are lanceolate or obovate, thin and glossy. The young branches are velvety brown. Canistel produces bisexual flowers, solitary or in small bunches. They are cream in color with silky hair and fragrant. Canistel fruit is very variable in form and size, round, with or without a pointed beak, oval or ovoid. Unripe fruit is green, hard and gummy. As it ripens, the skin turns lemon-yellow, golden-yellow or pale orange-yellow and becomes smooth and glossy. The flesh is yellow with a pasty texture similar to the texture of a hard-boiled egg, hence the name Egg Fruit. It is sweet tasting with a flavor comparable with that of baked sweet potato. Inside there are 1 to 4 hard seeds, glossy and chestnut-brown in color.
(Morton, J. 1987. Fruits of Warm Climates.)
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