The World of Apples

The apples that aren't

African star apple

Gambeya albida, Sapotaceae

The African star apple, or white star apple, is an indigenous fruit tree of West and Central Africa, where its fruit is widely eaten and valued for its vitamins, its medicinal uses, its place in local culture and the income it brings3. In Nigeria it is agbalumo in the south-west and udara in the south-east4; agwaliba and alasa are other local names3. The fruit is seasonal, and jams made from its pulp have been reported to compete with raspberry jams and jellies4.

Kew gives its native range as western tropical Africa to South Sudan and Tanzania, under the name Gambeya albida; it was long known as Chrysophyllum albidum2, in the genus of the tropical American star apple5.

In 2026 the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and its partners announced the first chromosome-scale assembly of its genome, 822 million base pairs in thirteen chromosomes, to help conserve and improve a tree threatened by habitat loss and over-exploitation3.

Sources

  1. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Gambeya albida, Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Supports: the accepted name and family.
  2. Plants of the World Online: Gambeya albida, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Supports: the accepted name, with Chrysophyllum albidum as its synonym; the native range, "W. Trop. Africa to South Sudan and Tanzania".
  3. High-quality chromosome-level genome of the white star apple (Gambeya albida), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, 30 April 2026. Supports: an indigenous fruit tree of West and Central Africa, widely eaten there and valued for its vitamins, medicinal uses, cultural importance and income; the local names agbalumo, udara, agwaliba and alasa; the first chromosome-scale genome, 822 Mbp in thirteen chromosomes; threats from habitat loss and over-exploitation.
  4. Chrysophyllum albidum (African star apple) fruit-supplemented diet enhances cognitive functions and attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced memory impairment, oxidative stress, and release of proinflammatory cytokines, Abayomi Mayowa Ajayi and others, Nutrire, 2020. Supports: a forest tree; agbalumo in south-western and udara in south-eastern Nigeria; the seasonal fruit, and jams from its pulp compared with raspberry jams and jellies.
  5. star apple, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fifth edition, HarperCollins, 2022. Supports: the star apple, Chrysophyllum cainito, a tropical American tree.