My Rare Fruit Photo Blog

Canistel and sapodilla

2008-05-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

IMG_7340, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

The canistel is flowering now. The canistel flowers (above) seem very close in appearance to the flowers of the sapodilla (below)

IMG_7341, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

Vanilla Orchid update

2008-05-27T16:40:00.001-07:00

IMG_7336, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

The Vanilla Orchid Flower I hand pollinated seems to have been fertilized, and perhaps we are seeing the first signs of a developing bean

Vanilla Orchid in bloom

2008-05-22T04:31:00.001-07:00

IMG_7288, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

I am going to try and hand pollinate this one right now. I've read there is a very short window in which to do it, and if it is not done withing those few hours, the flower falls off the next morning.

I'm gonna follow the very wonderful instructions here: http://www.sdahldtp.com/pollinate.htm

Annona Squamosa developing

2008-05-21T16:44:00.001-07:00

IMG_7261, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

taken a few days ago (on 5/17/08), one of my favorite times to look at the sugar apple tree - besides harvest time :-)
There are a dozen or so blossoms turned baby fruit.

one more photo of the "imposter"

2008-05-15T19:23:00.001-07:00

IMG_7161, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

Is this a true dragonfruit?
the flowers are beautiful, but never set fruit

Closeup of dragonfruit flower

2008-05-15T19:20:00.001-07:00

IMG_7159, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

posted for my friends at PitayaFruit Yahoo groups can help identify this "imposter"

dragonfruit?

2008-05-12T16:35:00.001-07:00

IMG_7246, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

05/12/2008 - I believe this to be a dragon fruit variety. It always flowers but never fruits. Is it possible it is some close relative? the blossoms ALWAYS wind up on the ground like this.

custard apples - update

2008-05-08T17:45:00.001-07:00

IMG_7172, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

looks like no custard apples this year!
Some animal (most likely armadillo or raccoon) chump ate my only fruit.

Next year, I'll have to pick them earlier, or find a way to "encourage" the animals to leave my fruit alone!

developing litchi fruit

2008-05-06T16:57:00.001-07:00

IMG_7169, originally uploaded by z_kevino.

This year, the litchi crop is not good at all. very few fruits. These fruit are about 1.5 inches or so in length.

Fuyu Persimmon blossom

2008-05-06T16:52:00.001-07:00

IMG_7168
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

The Fuyu persimmon tree has already blossomed this month. However, a few late bloomers can be found, as I captured in this image today.

Imbe (Garcinia livingstonei)

2008-05-05T04:36:00.001-07:00

IMG_7135
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

the Imbe tree is loaded with flowers, even though i rarely see more than a few fruit each year. i'll keep you updated on when and if i see them setting

inga

2008-05-03T15:40:00.001-07:00

IMG_7127
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

Almost exactly the same week as last year, my Inga trees began to bloom. My favorite time to look at these are when they are illuminated by the low angle sun, around 5:45 pm when this photo was taken.

Annona reticulata - custard apple

2008-05-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

IMG_7128
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

I am not too crazy about the taste of this cousin to the sugar apple. However, it has nice size fruit, which stay on the tree all winter (a pleasant view for this deciduous tree.

Also, the color is not too bad.

Atemoya flower in female stage

2008-04-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

IMG_7131
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

According to http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/atemoya.html

The flower, in its female stage, opens between 2 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Between 3 and 5 o'clock on the following afternoon, the flower converts to its male stage.

Here, it is clearly in its female stage.

Jaboticaba

2008-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

IMG_7133
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

Throughout April, my small Jaboticaba tree has been fruiting. Here you can see the spectrum of color the fruit go through - from a pale green to a rich, deep purple. The purple ones were still a week away from harvesting

pineapple

2008-04-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

IMG_7129
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

This pineapple plant had been in nice soil, with proper irrigation for several years. I never got a bloom. So I threw in in a pot with little soil, even less water, and what do you know: instant bloom and fruit!

Now, i am not sure if it was all the care I gave it for years, or the lack of care which caused the flowering.

My theory is that it thought it was gonna die, so it flushed out a flower to reproduce.... or it could be an April Fool's joke it played on me

Sawsall meets the coconuts

2007-08-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

I was tired of husking these with the machete, so I pulled out the old saws-all!

Harvested some nice tasting coconuts this week. I've included a photo of a glass of the coconut water, to show its consistency. The outsides of the coconuts are light green, with portions/stripes grey as they age.
Inside, however, is some quality Coconut!

Prickly Pear are here, also

2007-08-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

In addition to the Dragonfruit, the Prickly Pears are ripening. Unfortunately, many of them split, and ants invaded. I attribute the splitting to the erratic periods of drought, then excessive rain, then lack of rain for weeks!
The split here, however, is caused by my knife, in the careful ritual I have to open the fruit.

Dragon fruit are here!

2007-08-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

The dragonfruit have finally made fruit! Here are a series of photos taken as I opened my first one up this last week in August, 2007

Harvesting Jaboticaba

2007-06-10T17:57:00.001-07:00

Well, this week was the time to harvest the first round of Jaboticaba from the tree. I was surprised the tree did so nicely - it was transplanted, actually relocated, about 100 feet due to some construction occuring at the house.

This is the amount I harvested, between 350-400 fruit:

And here I am boiling / simmering them for making juice used in preparation of Jaboticaba Jelly.

Inga - First Week of June

2007-06-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

IMG_5333
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

The Inga are about three inches in size now. Still, they are no more than 5/8 of an inch wide.

Annona - First Week of June

2007-06-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Annona fruit are developing from the blossoms. In the two photos below, you can see them in various stages. This is Annona Squamosa. The Atemoya are not yet this far along.

Jaboticaba

2007-06-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

IMG_5127
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

The jaboticaba is a slow growing large shrub / small bushy tree. The one in this photo is at least 8 years old, and is native to Brazil.

Click on the photo to see more detail, but the fruit actually grow on the trunk and main branches, and has a very tough and thick skin.

I eat the fruit fresh, but I have several friends who make jelly/jam from them.

The California Rare Fruit Growers site says that Jaboticaba can be propagated by seed, although since the grow so slow, you might as well do that for your children to enjoy with their kids

Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica)

2007-06-01T18:20:00.001-07:00

IMG_1868
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

The Opuntia is blossoming this week.

At this point in time, I only have the yellow flowering (and white/yellowish flesh) kind of this unique cactus. I am looking for some mature leaves from the red variety, if you have any :-)

My first introduction to this fruit was in Sicily, and I believe the variety I tried to be Opuntia littoralis, coastal prickly pear. If you have problems swallowing seeds, forget this fruit. Also, you must be very careful when harvesting - I use a thick silicon glove, and remove the fruit.
Then make one incision laterally, just to the depth of the skin. Two slices, one at each end, and then peel back the skin - watch for the spines!

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera)

2007-05-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Wikipedia entry says that virtually every part of the coconut palm has some human use.

Sine this is my first tree (it took 10 years to bear fruit), I am not sure about when to pick them. The fruits are quite large, but still green. I imagine they are holding somewhere around 0.5 to 0.75 liters of water inside.

Inga developing nicely

2007-05-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

IMG_5130
Originally uploaded by z_kevino

In the last week of May, the inga are developing nicely. The fruit is no more than 1.5 inches in length, barely 1/4 inch in diameter.
The tree is still loaded with flowers.

Cashews are getting bigger!

2007-05-19T19:58:00.001-07:00

IMG_5035
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

this is what they look like in the 3rd week of May. Unseen here, are the loads of new flowers, with their fragrant, almost cinnamon smell.

Longan

2007-05-18T22:13:00.001-07:00

IMG_5033
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

The Longan tree is also starting to set fruit

Persimmon

2007-05-18T22:12:00.001-07:00

IMG_5008
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

The persimmon tree is starting to fruit. This little bug is hiding in the crevices of the flower petals

Up the skirt of a Sugar apple

2007-05-18T22:10:00.001-07:00

IMG_5001
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

This is the view an insect gets.

Atemoya still ripening on tree

2007-05-16T22:29:00.001-07:00

IMG_4967
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

This strange variety of atemoya is still ripening on the tree. While the size and color is eye candy, the flavor of this particular cultivar does nothing special for me.

Can anyone identify it?

update: This is a custard apple, and not atemoya

IMG_4953

Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

Black Sapote (Diospyros digyna) in bloom

2007-05-12T11:05:00.001-07:00

IMG_4920
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

Also known as the Chocolate Pudding Fruit, the black sapote is one of my favorite fruits. Surprisingly enough, this tree is 6 years old, always flowers, but never sets fruit. Let's see how it does this year.
If it fruits, I'll write an entry about the fruit.

This tree has flowers which have both male and female organs, and others which are solely male. I assume this photo shows both types.

Litchies are ripening

2007-05-11T17:59:00.001-07:00

IMG_4903
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

These Mauritius Litchies are doing two things: getting plump, and changing color. Last year, they were ready for harvesting around the end of June. I suspect this year they will be a bit earlier, due to the mild Winter we had.

Split Mangoes!

2007-05-11T17:56:00.001-07:00

IMG_4901
Originally uploaded by z_kevino.

I'd sure love to know why this happens!
Half of the Mangoes fell due to high winds. I can not afford to lose more to splitting!
anyone have ideas on how to prevent this?

this week's flowers - first week May

2007-05-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

This week the black pepper (Piper nigrum) continues to develop nicely. I'm waiting for one or two berries at the base to turn red, which I've read is when you harvest them and prepare for drying.

The blackberries are in bloom this week as well. Here, you can see both flower, and under it, developing fruit. (note: however hard I've tried, I'm unable to check email on this variety of BB)

It's almost Litchi time! Here is a close up of the developing fruit. I estimate about another 5-6 weeks until harvest.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

2007-05-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Native from Iran to Northern India, I find it a bit strange that people refer to these as Chinese Apples (well, at least they did in the 1970's, when I first was introduced to them). According to a wikipedia entry , The name "pomegranate" is derived from Latin pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded"). If you've ever cut one open, you'll know why. But be careful - Pomegranate juice permanently stains!

Enjoy these photos I took today. If you click on them, the full size image should be displayed, and you can see more detail.

These photos show the various stages of the flower/fruit development. The first one shows a flower before it "opens up."

No more than a few days later, the flower will burst open, as shown here - it's ready for pollination. (If you click/zoom in, you can see the yellow pollen contrasted against the red petals.)

Above is the result you hope for: a developing pomegranate fruit, somewhere near a week old.

Even in Florida, where the Winter was quite warm this year, my pomegranate still lost its leaves (it is deciduous). I have a white variety, but it is quite young still. My friends at the Tampa Bay Chapter of Rare Fruit Council International made it for me from a clipping a few years back. It seems to be a slow grower (for me, anyway).

Well, that's all on the pomegranate until I can harvest some fruit. But before I save this post, I want to share one interesting thing I ran across when researching this fruit: There was an statistical analysis done on just how many seeds a pomegranate has. In their analysis, there was on average 613 seeds per fruit, which is (coincidentially) why Jewish tradition teaches the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness - it is said to have 613 seeds corresponding with the 613 mitzvot, or commandments of the Torah. (amazing what a little About.com can teach you)

Summary - last week of April

2007-04-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

The cashew flowers have been blooming for about two weeks now. In this photo, you can make out several of the cashews and what will be the "apple", just above the familiar "C" shaped nut.

Avocado flowers are also out. Like with the cashews, some of the early flowers have been pollinated and are developing into fruit.

OK, so I forgot to rotate them (actually, I hoped that blogger would read the rotation in the exif data). Here, you can see (if you turn your head) my huge longan tree in blossom. It just started this week.

One more head turned is this one which shows the surinam cherries.

First signs of canistel flowers.

Key lime fruits forming - you can still see the stamin of the flowers, and other flowers that just opened in the background. This tree is on its third or fourth flowering since January.

A fruit I need to post an entry on is Spondias purpurea, a.k.a. Red mombin (jocote, in Costa Rica). It is flowering now, and since this was a mild winter in florida, there are also fruit developing from a few months back alongside new ones.

Imbe, Garcinia livingstonei, is beginning to fruit. It also is blossoming. More about this East African tree later...

The annona squamosa, sugar apple, flowers are blooming, Here you can see both male and female stages of the flower. I'll leave it up to you to guess which is which.

Inga Edulis - Ice Cream Bean

2007-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

This week, the Inga started to bloom.

The Inga is native to the Amazon, and grows quite nicely in Florida. However, our sandy soil (combined with the Inga's shallow root system) causes lots of problems. These trees have suffered in almost every hurricane. In fact, the tree you are looking at has been cut to the roots several times after it has fallen in the 80+ mph winds of hurricane seasons.

The Inga makes pods, which inside, have green seeds covered with a white, fluffy pulp. (that's why some folks call Inga the cotton candy fruit).

The best and most in depth info on Inga, and on its utilization, can be found in two excellent books by T. D. Pennington: The Genus Inga - Botany ( ISBN 1 900347 12 1) and The Genius Inga - Utilization (ISBN 1 900347 58 X)

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)

2007-04-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been quite some time since I posted. I hope you have been checking and will be glad to read that the cashew flowers are in bloom. They are quite beautiful, and their smell reminds me a bit of cinnamon.

Cashews are native to the northeast coast of Brazil, and are mostly known for their nuts -which grows externally in its own kidney-shaped hard shell at the end of a pseudo-fruit. Illike the "apple" myself, but you better make sure it is ripe or you'll get a sour surprise :-(

More on the cashew as it matures.

thanks, and please check back. I'll try my best to update more regularly.

Barbados Cherry / Pummelo (updates)

2007-02-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

(sorry the images are rotated incorrectly)

Just a photo to show how "loaded" the Barbados Cherry tree is in the middle of February...

And this little bee is helping make some pummelo for next year

Barbados Cherry

2007-01-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-01-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

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.)

Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola)

2006-12-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

The California Rare Fruit Growers web site says, the Carambola can tolerate temperatures as low as 27° F for short periods of time. Well, mine lives up to its sub-tropical categorization: Despite several nights of 40 degrees F temperature, my carambola trees are still happy, and producing their second crop. The fruits are getting sweeter by the day, ripening on the tree. There is some cold damage (not easily seen in this photo) where the fruit's skin has turned brown, but the inside's still tasty!

Here in Central Florida, my carambola trees are evergreen.

The carambola fruit, i.e. Star Fruit, is crunchy like an apple, yet juicy and sweet (although some cultivars are not sweet, and are cooked . When cut, its cross section resembles a 5 (sometimes 6) pointed star. One thing I like about the skin of the carambola, is that it is naturally waxy, making it quite easy to use a soap and water solution to clean any black sooty mold that arises.

One final thing to mention: if you see small pinhole markings on the fruit, it may be caused by stink bug's piercing-sucking mouth parts. The fruit should not have anything wrong with it, but if you see any small area rotting, just discard it and enjoy the rest.

More information on carambolas can be found here

Pummelo (Citrus maxima) - part 2

2006-12-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Just some more photos to help illustrate how the inside of my pink pummelo looks like.

Notice the thick rind, and how the individual "cells" of the fruit are self contained, and not very adhesive to each other - in other words, how the fruit appears "dry" - but is actually quite juicy inside.

Enjoy!

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)

2006-12-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

The loquat is one of my dependable fruit - I can count on it every year, even when we sometimes get a freeze or two. This is strange, because the flowers just start to bloom here in Florida around the beginning of December, as the photo shows above.

Indigenous to China, the loquat is a "subtropical" plant. http://www.cfrg.org states that established trees can tolerate a low temperature of 12° F.

My first introduction to the fruit occured in Italy. I was surprised to learn that "Nespola" (as they are referred to in Italy), are grown in Spain, Israel, Japan, and even Brazil.

side note: I have found, however, that many Italians use the word nespola for the Royal Medlar, Mespilus germanica, which is a completely different fruit, not a loquat. look here: http://www.albanesi.it/Alimentazione/cibi/nespola.htm for a photo of a Royal Medlar, but incorrectly stating that it is Eriobotrya japonica. Loquats are orange, not brown (unless rotting).

As shown in today's blog photo, the lowers are white and small. Unfortunately for you, you'll miss their sweet fragrance. The fruit are orange, and can vary from oval to round 1 to 2 inches long. Inside are shiny brown seeds, about 4 or 5 per fruit. Eaten too early, the tangy flesh is almost acidy. When ripe, the flesh can be anywhere from white to yellow to orange.

An excellent description of the different cultivars of loquats can be found here: http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html

A PDF discussing the loquat's use as an ornamental tree in the FL landscape is available here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG05000.pdf

Pummelo (Citrus maxima)

2006-12-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

As I head out to work this morning, I was reminded of the time of year - not by a chill in the air, but by the sweet perfume of the Pummelo tree, whose blossoms resemble (in both smell and appearance) any other citrus'. The thing which makes these different is the size - I believe the pummelo is the largest citrus fruit.

This one is 6" in diameter, and the inside is pink, like a grapefruit. Unlike a grapefruit, the inside of this variety of pummelo is quite dry, if you can imagine that As it ripens , I'll open one up and take some more photos and add it to the blog.

Strangely, this tree blossomed twice - once a few months ago, and again now - the normal November / December blossoms. Note the small fruits alongside the larger ones from last year.

For more information about Pummelo, please visit http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pummelo.html

Atemoya (Annona squamosa × Annona cherimola)

2006-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

This week, several varieties of my atemoya are almost ready for picking. I should point out that the one in this photo is not, however.

Since the atemoya is a cross between the sugar apple (Annona squamosa) and the cherimoya (Annona cherimola), there are many varieties out there - some with dominant traits from the annona, others from the cherimoya, and still others somewhere inbetween.

While the first hybrid was performed in the United States (Miami) in 1908, atemoya varieties were being hybrid in other countries such as Australia, South Africa, and Israel - where the Geffner variety shown in my top photo was introduced.

Atemoyas have a white sweet custard-like pulp

with black seeds - which are toxic. I like the fruit by itself, but have enjoyed a few in milkshakes / refrescos - just remember to remove the seeds before blending!

Just for comparison, look at this other variety of Atemoya.
Notice how the color, shape, and even the thickness of the stem differ from the first photo. I have four varieties, since each contributes its own unique flavor, and ripen at different times of the year.

For more information on atemoya, please visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG33200.pdf

White Sapote (Casimiroa edulis) blossoms

2006-12-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

This week is the first time I have witnessed this tree blossom. What I have observed is that only the lower branches have flowers. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that they are protected from the hot sun by the branches/leaves above them.

The White Sapote is native from Mexico to Costa Rica, where I first tasted one. The skin is not edible, but the pulp inside is, and tastes a bit like peach, but with more of a custardy texture.

A nice PDF File with more information about the White Sapote can be downloaded here:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HE/HE63200.pdf

Welcome to my Blog

2006-12-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

My intent is to create a photo-journal of the changes my collection of rare fruit trees go through during the year.

Being in Central Florida, I'm still amazed on how the seasons (or lack thereof) affect the growth, propagation, and fruiting of these fruit trees. Along with each post, you will find background information on the tree species and external links, when available.

For my first post, I thought it would be a good idea to look from above over the lot where these trees are located. We'll be looking at them from slightly different (and closer) views in the upcoming posts.

Thanks for visiting...