Balatá
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- For the Palestinian refugee camp see Balata
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| Manilkara bidentata (A. DC.) Chev. |
Balatá (Manilkara bidentata) is a species of Manilkara native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean. It is also the natural latex made from its sap.
Balatá is a large tree growing to 30-45 m tall. The leaves are alternate, elliptical, entire, and 10-20 cm long. The flowers are white, and are produced at the beginning of the rainy season. The fruit is a yellow berry, 3-5 cm in diameter, which is edible; it contains one (occasionally two) seed(s).
[edit] Uses
The latex is extracted in the same manner in which sap is extracted from the rubber tree. It is then dried to form an inelastic rubber-like material. It is almost identical to gutta-percha (produced from a closely related southeast Asian tree), and is sometimes called gutta-balatá.
Balatá is often used in the production of golf balls, to use as the outer layer of the ball. Balatá-covered balls have a high spin rate, but due to the nondurable nature of the material that the golf club strikes, do not last long before requiring replacement. These balls are favoured by tournament players.
Balatá trees are farmed along the banks of the Amazon River and its tributaries, such as the Içá. It is also the most important timber tree on Puerto Rico.
The tree is a hardwood with a red timber, which is used for furniture and as a construction material where it grows. Locals often refer to it as "Bulletwood" for its extremely hard wood, which is sufficiently dense that it does not float in water. Pre-drilling is necessary to drive nailed connections.
The fruit, like that of the related Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota), is edible, with an excellent flavour.
