Tulul

Tulul es el nombre de varias frutas tropicales de América Central, la región norteña de Sudamérica y el Caribe. Hay cuatro especies originarias a México y Centroamérica, incluyendo el zapote chicozapote o zapotilla (Manilkara zapota), el zapote amarillo (Pouteria campechiana), el mamey (Pouteria sapota) y el zapote verde (Pouteria viridis).

Anthropologist Allen J. Christenson (2007: 194n464) notes, "The zapote (Lucuma mammosa) is a sweet tropical fruit which grows in warm, lowland areas of southeastern Mexico as well as the Guatemalan coast. It is oblong in shape, measuring 10-15 cm in length. Its skin is tough and brownish-red, while its meat varies from dark red to brown and has a delicious, aromatic flavor. Based on Quiché traditions of its association with the creation and because of its abundant fruit, Father Domingo de Vico chose the zapote to represent the paradisiacal Tree of Life in his writings (Carmack and Mondloch 1983, 207-208)."

Image credit: Abalg, Zapote negro, en Wikimedia (licencia CC).