genus of 75 species of woody trees and shrubs, within the sapodilla family (Sapotaceae), native to mainly warmer regions of North and South America. The plants typically have gummy or milky sap and extremely hard wood. The branches may be thorny, with alternate leaves that are entire (smooth edged). S. lanuginosa, variously known as chittamwood, shittamwood, gum elastic, and false buckthorn, is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental. It grows to about 15 metres (50 feet) tall. The leaves are 3.75–10 cm (1.5–4 inches) long, are dark lustrous green above and rusty beneath, and persist until late in the fall. The minute white blossoms grow in many-flowered clusters. The ellipsoid black fruit is about 1 cm (0.4 inch) long.