Barbados Cherry

Look back at this blog 18 days ago and see what those beautiful flowers in the last photo produced: Barbados cherries.

Barbados Cherries are very rich in vitamin C (2000 to 4600 milligram per 100 milligram of edible fruit).

I have seen several botanical names for this fruit, but M. Punicifolia L. (M. glabra Millsp. NOT Linn.) has been generally approved as the correct botanical name for the Barbados cherry (see http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/barbados_cherry.html )

The tree is bush-like. The Fruit are about 1 ich and bright red. The skin, is a bit glossy. The pulp is orange in color, juicy, but a bit on the acidic side.

Canistel - Pouteria campechiana

Imagine a fruit that has a dry custard-like texture and tastes like egg yolk. That is the canistel, a.k.a. Egg Fruit. Quite different that its relatives - sapodilla, and mamey sapote...
As you can see in the photo below, canistel should be harvested when fruit turn yellow-orange.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS299 suggests allowing fruit 3 to 10 days to ripen at room temperature until soft but not mushy. Once fruit is ripe it may be stored in the refrigerator for several days prior to use.

I do not know the variety I have, although they seem to have or 1 or 2 glossy brown seeds per fruit, as seen above.

Jan 15. and still eating fresh Star Fruit!

It's the middle of January, and usually I'm looking to protect the tropicals from the 30º F nights. In past New Years, the only Star Fruit I would have eaten would have been ones I dehydrated a few months back. But this year, courtesy of El Niño, I'm digging into this sweet delight straight off the tree!
ONE BENEFIT OF GLOBAL WARMING!

Tropical Fruit Tree Flowers in January?

This blog entry celebrates the beauty of three of my fruit trees. Because of the really unusually mild weather this year, they are blossoming quite early (up to several months early). Can you guess what they are? If not, after you've enjoyed their beauty, look really close for the yellow-like text under each photo.

malika mango

(Mangifera indica 'Mallika' )

meyer lemon
(Citrus × meyeri)

barbados cherry

(Malpighia glabra L.)