Abiu fruit (photo credit: Graham Bond)
Abiu
Pouteria caimito
Sapotaceae family
Seedling with 'Z4' grafted branch
The Abiu tree is cold-sensitive and requires protection when young (see photo below of our young Abiu being sheltered from cold winds by sugar cane plants). Our tree is a seedling with one branch grafted with the 'Z4' variety in order to help with cross-pollination and increase fruit set.
The Abiu fruit is considered a delicacy and one of the best of the Sapotes. The 'Z4' is a commercially grown variety and produces big, sweet, high-quality fruit. The Z4 graft has produced its first fruit, but the seedling portion of the tree has not yet set fruit (as of 2025), so we don't know the quality.
When ripe, it has smooth, bright yellow skin. Harvest when more than 50% yellow in colour to fully yellow. Care should be taken to allow fruit to fully ripen to avoid the latex just inside the skin; this is why the fruit is generally cut in half and the flesh scooped out.
Its delicious flavour is reminiscent of creme caramel, maybe mango & honey, or lemon meringue pie. Cut in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon and enjoy. The flavour is enhanced when eaten slightly chilled. It can be used in fruit salads or added to yoghurt, to flavour ice cream, or used in sorbets with coconut milk and raw cane sugar.
Native to the Amazonian region of South America.
Tree Provenance
Our tropical fruit enthusiast, Grant Jenkins, grew the Abiu tree himself from seed. The 'Z4' scion wood (small branch/twig from a mature tree) came from Steve Trennery in Cairns, QLD. We will possibly graft another variety onto this tree in the future. If the seedling component does not fruit well, then we will selectively prune to allow the 'Z4' and any future grafts to dominate the tree, whilst reducing the branches formed from the original seedling rootstock.
Tree Maintenance
Pouteria caimito
Sapotaceae family
Seedling with 'Z4' grafted branch
The Abiu tree is cold-sensitive and requires protection when young (see photo below of our young Abiu being sheltered from cold winds by sugar cane plants). Our tree is a seedling with one branch grafted with the 'Z4' variety in order to help with cross-pollination and increase fruit set.
The Abiu fruit is considered a delicacy and one of the best of the Sapotes. The 'Z4' is a commercially grown variety and produces big, sweet, high-quality fruit. The Z4 graft has produced its first fruit, but the seedling portion of the tree has not yet set fruit (as of 2025), so we don't know the quality.
When ripe, it has smooth, bright yellow skin. Harvest when more than 50% yellow in colour to fully yellow. Care should be taken to allow fruit to fully ripen to avoid the latex just inside the skin; this is why the fruit is generally cut in half and the flesh scooped out.
Its delicious flavour is reminiscent of creme caramel, maybe mango & honey, or lemon meringue pie. Cut in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon and enjoy. The flavour is enhanced when eaten slightly chilled. It can be used in fruit salads or added to yoghurt, to flavour ice cream, or used in sorbets with coconut milk and raw cane sugar.
Native to the Amazonian region of South America.
Tree Provenance
Our tropical fruit enthusiast, Grant Jenkins, grew the Abiu tree himself from seed. The 'Z4' scion wood (small branch/twig from a mature tree) came from Steve Trennery in Cairns, QLD. We will possibly graft another variety onto this tree in the future. If the seedling component does not fruit well, then we will selectively prune to allow the 'Z4' and any future grafts to dominate the tree, whilst reducing the branches formed from the original seedling rootstock.
Tree Maintenance
- Pruning - Be careful not to prune the grafted branch.
- Lightly pruned when young to remove the central leader and promote well-spaced branches. Keep to 3m high to facilitate harvesting, and branches should be not lower than 1m from the ground. Remove all suckers.
- Watering is required in periods of drought, and during fruit growth, or fruit will split during rapid maturation.
- Feed regularly with organic manures & fertiliser.
- Mulching is highly recommended to keep the soil moist (leave a gap around the truck to avoid collar rot).
- A wind break is very helpful.
- Susceptible to fruit fly stings, so fruit needs bagging or tree needs covering with appropriate netting after fruit set.
Abiu tree at LCG February 2025. The Z4 graft is on the small branch as shown. Photo taken from the west (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Young fruit forming on Abiu tree at LCG February 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Abiu at LCG December 2024 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Abiu at LCG August 2022 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
