Kaimito
Chrysophyllum cainito · Star apple
- Names in the book
- English: Star apple; Tagalog: Kaymito
- Colours
- flowergreenish-whitefruitpurple, green
- Native range
- The Greater Antilles in the Caribbean
- Family
- Sapotaceae
- Printed as
- Chrysophyllum cainito L.
- Sources
- Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 100 · Wikipedia
The plant today
Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated. It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height.
Excerpt from “Chrysophyllum cainito” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Ang kaymito o kaynito ay isang puno o bunga nito na makikita sa Asya, kabilang ang Pilipinas.
Sipi mula sa “Kaymito” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 104 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 28 provinces, most often Zamboanga del Norte (21), Zamboanga del Sur (9), Iloilo (5), Metropolitan Manila (5), Antique (5), Bataan (4), Cebu (4), Guimaras (4), and 20 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1985 book uses it for
A record of home remedies from 1985, with the book's amounts and doses reworded. It is not medical advice.
- DiarrheaLeaf decoction, drunk.Boil 1 cup of chopped leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes. Adults take 1 cup three times a day and after each loose stool. Children the same way: babies 1 tablespoon, ages 2 to 6 a quarter cup, ages 7 to 12 half a cup.Page 22
- Swollen gums and mouth inflammationLeaf decoction as a gargle.Boil 1 cup of chopped fresh leaves in 2 glasses of water for 10 minutes.Page 42
Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Kaymito” on page 100. The book is in copyright, so its wording and photographs are not reproduced. Amounts are the book's, restated.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Phytoconstituents, antioxidant and antiglycation activity of Chrysophyllum cainito L., Hancornia speciosa Gomes and Plinia glomerata Berg. fruits
- Lupeol acetate isolated from Chrysophyllum cainito L. fruit as a template for the synthesis of N-alkyl-arylsulfonamide derivatives and their synergistic effects with metronidazole against Trichomonas vaginalis
- Green Synthesis, Chemical Characterization, and Antiproliferative Effect of Gold Nanoparticles Using Methanolic Extracts of Chrysophyllum cainito L. Peels