you are from Trinidad right?

have you ever heard of cocorite (palm) or seen it growing around here, thats another tree i would like to source

Yes I am.

Fairchild's has a tree. Why so interested in it?

these were two trees that were recommended, the cocorite sounded interesting.

are you not a fan of the fruit?

Cocorite and balata are two trees that I would plant if I had space but not a tree I need to have like pommerac. I am growing the balata because I know a few people that are interested in it. If you are be interested in a balata seedling I can give you one in a few months. I will look for the cocorite for you. Another tree that is very good is the peach palm. In Trinidad it is referred to as peewah. You might be interested in that also.

Here is a link that might be useful: peewah aka peach palm

How difficult is it to sprout the seeds of the Balata? I totally love the fruit, and in Trinidad it is still difficult to get these fruits. Sometimes they are small, with very little pulp around the seed, but I got some wonderful, lucious fruits today!
I tried and had some Longan seeds from Canada that sprouted, and the plants are doing pretty good. I am hoping to have the same success with the Balata!

is Manilkara bidentata dioecious? that is, do you need a male and female tree like mabolo, or are both sexes born on the same tree

Mangokush,
M. bidentata is not dioecious. It has perfect flowers. I am beginning to doubt that the Mimusops balata is the same thing as Manilkara bidentata though. M. bidentata is from the Caribbean and I think M. balata is from Africa/Indian Ocean area. Even though quite a few websites say they are the same thing they have marked differences. The fruit look similar but taste different, the seeds are different shaped, and the leaves are somewhat different. What do you think?

Dassie3553,
Germination of the balata seeds can be quite difficult. I planted about 30 seeds last year and I had zero germination. I later read that many of the seeds are hollow and the others can take up to two years to germinate. Also, the seeds should not be planted deeply at all but instead just pressed into the surface. I should be getting more seeds this year and I will try soaking them in GA3 to see if that will increase germination or not. If you are in Trinidad, I think they sell grafted balata trees at one of the government experiment stations. Try calling them and see if they have any.