Not all sapotes are members of this genus or even family, however; many sapotes are in the family Sapotaceae, especially the genus Pouteria, and the black sapote is part of the Ebenaceae.
However a combined DNA and morphological study of the subfamily Chrysophylloideae found the two main genera, Chrysophyllum and Pouteria, to be highly polyphyletic, and that C. imperiale is not closely related to other members of the genus but instead the genus Elaeoluma.
The specific name is derived from the generic name, Pouteria, of the only recorded larval host.
It was maintained as a distinct entity until the 1930s when it was submerged in the genus Pouteria.