Abiu Tree

About the Abiu Tree

Abiu bears smooth, bright-yellow fruit about the size of a large egg, filled with translucent, jelly-like white flesh. The flavour is sweet and gentle, often likened to caramel or a mild vanilla custard, and it is best eaten chilled with a spoon. A relative of mamey and caimito, the tree is upright and fairly compact, with glossy leaves, and it often bears more than one crop a year in warm conditions. It does best in hot, humid lowlands with regular rain, such as southern Mexico. Grown on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped via DHL.

How to Care for It

Grow in full sun in rich, well-drained soil that stays moist; abiu dislikes drought and shows stress quickly. Water deeply during dry spells and mulch the root zone. Feed every two to three months during the growing season with a balanced fertiliser. Protect from cold near freezing and from strong winds. Pick fruit when fully yellow, before it softens on the tree, and prune lightly to keep it manageable.

Grow fruit most people have never tasted. Our exotic fruit trees, from Monthong durian and Emperor lychee to jaboticaba, achachairú and red finger lime, are raised on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped by DHL across Mexico. Most love heat and humidity; several do beautifully in large pots.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Pouteria caimito

Family

Sapotaceae

Native to

Amazon basin

Mature height

6–10 m

Plant spacing

6 m

Years to first fruit

3–5 years

Light

Full sun

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 2 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics

Grows in a pot

Best in the ground

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas