Mimusops coriacea

Native to the Comoros and northern and eastern Madagascar, this evergreen tree grows in moist tropical habitats. Commonly called monkey’s apple, it can reach about fifty feet tall. Cream-white flowers develop singly or in clusters at the leaf axils, with many slender divisions giving them a fringed appearance. The rounded to oval fruits become yellow or orange at maturity. The tree produces milky latex. Its fruits have a tough rind and sweet, mealy pulp, and are eaten locally and sometimes sold in markets in Madagascar and the Comoros. It has become naturalized in the Mascarene Islands and southeastern Florida. Photographed in Colombia.