The Tropical Fruit Forum

I deceived some seeds from Marcos a few years back that were labeled as E. pyriformis or lutecens. Well I had three plants fruit this year, so I figured that I would post a tasting note and discuss what these plants may be.


Fruit itself is quite variable in size, with one plant producing fruit that is two to three time the size of the other two plants.


Flavor wise, the fruits are soft, very succulent and acidic. They taste of apricot and suriname cherry, with a pleasant hint of resin.  If you like acidic fruits, you will probably like this one, and juiced with added sugar it was quite tasty.

It is a very attractive plant, fruits well in a pot, and produces an abundant crop.  Something that I find to be well worth growing.

As to what this plant is, I am also growing Eugenia pyriformis, from seeds I received from Vitor when he was active here and providing seeds. With the proviso that I cannot guarantee that Vitors seeds are truly pyriformis, I can say that the plant from Vitor's seeds are clearly different from the plants from Marcos' seeds.  The plants look similar in overall growth habit, although Vitor's leaves are a bit narrower (only slightly).  The big difference is in the flowering of the two.  For Vitor's seeds the plant produces solitary flowers, that bloom in April/May with the fruit ripening in June.  For the other plant, the plant produces three flowers in a stem, much like many guavas, and although the flower buds start to appear in April, they do not bloom until Late July, with the fruit ripening in August/September.

So, what is this plant?  Is it E. lutecens or E. pyriformis or something else?  I really don't know but I will keep researching it.

Anyway, if anyone wants seeds of this plant, let me know as I have a bunch.

Cheers,
Richard

Finally fruited my Campomanesia guazumifolia, from seeds I obtained from Vitor some years back. I have to say that this has not been the easiest plant for me to grow, as it seems to prefer more humidity than I can readily give it. It struggled for the first few years, until I placed it in the middle of a bunch of other potted plants, where because of the density it was a much more humid micro-climate.  Once there it took off, doubling in size the first year and nearly doubling again the second.  Unfortunately It outgrew its spot, and after moving it to a more open location it is back to struggling a bit.

Anyway, it flowered for the first time last year but did not set any fruit.  This year it set an abundance of fruit,  and I have been enjoying them for the past week or so.  The fruit is around 1 inch in diameter, flattened and yellow green to yellow in color. the skin has a fuzz, similar to a peach that does not wash off, and while it does not bother me, some people might find it a bit irritating.  the flavor is sweet to sub-acid, depending on the ripeness with flavors of apricot and guava.  Its relation to the Psidiums is evident in the texture, with a slight graininess near the skin and a more gelatinous pulp in the center. Overall a very enjoyable fruit, but not as good as my Campomanesia adamantium.






Cheers,
Richard

Rose apple seeds, free, you just pay postage.

I know it is not a common variety, but does anyone have a Gottfried avocado tree that they would be willing to supply scionwood from? 

Thanks,
Richard

I have some germinated mangosteen seeds if anybody is interested.  seedling are free and postage is $8 for 2 day USPS in the US.  Foreign shipping is quite expensive so this is a US only offer.

Cheers.
Richard

Hi,

This fruit is sometinng that I  got from Helton about 5 years ago as a seed that was supposed to be Myrciaria delicatula.  It is now obvious to me that it is not that but is possibly some sort of psidium species.

as you can see in the photos, the fruit is about one inch in diameter, yellow-green when ripe, and has a distinct lemony-guava flavor,  sub-acid, and really pretty tasty. Each fruit contains one or two seeds that are around 3/8 inch in diameter and lenticular.  The plant blooms in the spring, ant these fruits took around 10 months to ripen.

The plant itself is quite large, and was about 9 ft before i cut it back, with an open and spreading habit.

Does anyone have any Idea as to what it might be?

I harvested my yacon today, and I have an excess of planting tubers.  It is the purple skinned type and is very tasty.

PM me if you are interested.


Cheers,
Richard

Hi All,

I was thinking about having a cubic yard or so of cotton seed meal delivered to my house.  Since this is obviously more than I need I was wondering if anybody local had a need for any.  It will be in bulk, so you would need to bag it up and haul it away your self.

PM me if you are interested.

Anybody out there have Cosmic Charlie cuttings available  I can purchase or trade for one of the many other DF plants that I currently have (or lots of other plants).  Cosmic Charlie is one of the few that I do not have and people keep asking me for it, so I thought I should find out what all the fuss is about.

Thanks,
Richard

Can anyone help with the ID of this jaboticaba? I got it a while ago and it is labeled "Sabara 5."  The leaf shape is clearly not sabara and I have never seen another jaboticaba with such intense red new growth. Any of the Myrciaria experts out there have any ideas about what it is?

Thanks,
Richard

Today I picked the first fruit of my Hylocereus setaceus (syn. Selenicereus setaceus).  My plant is in its third year from a cutting, and has been a very hardy grower for me. 

The fruit is a bit on the small size, this one was 150 grams or about the size of a Houghton or S-8, red-orange exterior, with small fins and spines that easily brushed off.  The interior was a bright magenta, and this was the sweetest dragon fruit I have ever tasted (I have not tried the yellow yet). The flavor was mild and grape like, much like so many of the Guatemalan types and their hybrids (American Beauty, Rixford, Purple Haze....) but much sweeter (or possibly less acidic).  When the next one ripens I will try to get a check of the brix level.

Over all I feel that is is a very high quality fruit and as good or better than the top tier dragon fruit out there.






Cheers,
Richard
 

I returned from a two week vacation last night, to a very pleasant surprise. on my Cabelluda plant was a single ripe fruit!  I had almost given up hope on these, as the plant bloomed for the first time last December, and while it initially set a number of fruit, most had aborted over the last six months with only three left on the plant by late May.  I was thinking that for such a small fruit, they sure take a long time to ripen, and wad starting to think that may be they would never turn yellow.

Imagine my surprise when I went out to see how all my plans survived the unexpected heat while I was away and there on my M. glazoviana was one bright yellow fruit.  I picked it and popped it in my mouth immediately, being so excited to taste one for the first time.  I think that it is a very tasty fruit, much like a jaboticaba, but with more acid balance to it.  The main drawback is that there is precious little flesh on the one I had, a thick yellow rind and a large seed with about 3 mm of edible flesh in the middle.  I am hoping that as the plant matures the pulp to seed ratio bets better, because I really like this fruit.

Now I am waiting for the next one to ripen!

Cheeers,
Richard