Hi I recently ordered many 100s seeds of fruiting plants indigenous to where I live, South Africa.
Our indigenous food plants are little known here and I am on a quest to popularize food and fruit plants in my country especially indigenous ones. However very recently the plastic of my large greenhouse has succumb to the highveld sun and early winter wind. It is still early winter here with frequent light frosts so I will have to germinate in my much smaller greenhouse and/or inside I will consequently have far more seeds than I can feasibly use at the moment unfortunately. I will be getting them in the next few weeks and they are all this seasons seeds.
Anything I make will be going towards a poly tunnel I am buying in a couple months that I have been saving for a long time.
Im open to trades too if its something I dont have!
I was thinking 1$ for the very large seeds like Marula and maybe 50c for the much smaller seeds + 6$ shipping standard mail
but I am open to negotiation if this doesnt sound fair Iv only ever traded seeds.
Heres what I have:
Annona senegalensis-African custard apple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annona_senegalensisDialium schlechteri-Sherbert fruit
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/dialiumschlechteri.htm"The fruits are edible and very popular with Zulu children, as they are very tasty. According to some people, they taste exactly like sherbet. The pulp is sometimes mixed with water and milk to make a refreshing drink""the pods are oval, thin-shelled and velvety red-brown (25 mm long). A bright orange, dry pith surrounds the seeds. The brown fruits are usually borne in profusion from autumn onwards"
Diospyros lycioides-bluebush, star-apple, monkey plum
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/diospyroslyc.htm"The fruit has a pleasant, sweetish taste, with jelly-like flesh when ripe; the young fruit is covered by hairs, but is smooth when ripe and turns from red to reddish brown to black"
Diospyros mespiliformis-African ebony, jackal-berry
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/diospyrosmespil.htm" The fruit is a fleshy berry, with an enlarged calyx, yellow to orange when ripe""Ripe fruits are relished by indigenous people, especially by children. Fruits are eaten fresh or are dried for later use"
Dovyalis caffra-Kei-appel
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/dovycaf.htm"The fruits are up to 60 mm in diameter and are yellowish orange in colour.""The fruits are edible and make excellent jam"
Dovyalis rhamnoides-sourberry
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/dovyalisrhamnoides.htm"This is a spiny, evergreen shrub or tree bearing edible fruit""The plant can be used as a hedge or can be planted as a tree. Its fruits are edible and very delicious. They can also be used to make jam, jelly preserve, vinegar and brandy"
Grewia flava-Wild or Velvet Raisin, Brandybush
http://www.hartebeestfonteinconservancy.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161:velvet-brandybush-grewia-flava&catid=67:tree-of-the-month&Itemid=73http://fruitandnuttrees.com/brandy-bush-grewia-flavaManilkara concolor-Zulu milkberry
Manilkara discolor-Forest milkberry
http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Manilkara+discolorhttp://books.google.co.za/books?id=RpVJJH3kV0oC&pg=PA504&lpg=PA504&dq=Manilkara+concolor&source=bl&ots=gSsy36OaHe&sig=fyLOtaUG0Ng6M_rQa3B-TSm-VEM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wx6gU6fPIOSp7Aa5hICIBg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=Manilkara%20concolor&f=falseBoth are apparently very tastey. The one link describes discolour as the best of all wild fruits
Parinari curatellifolia-mobola-plum, cork tree, hissing tree
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/parinaricurat.htm"Generally, these trees are not cleared away as the fruits are edible (and very tasty at that) and can readily be made into a nutritious syrup or more commonly as porridge. The fruits are also occasionally utilized for the brewing of alcoholic beverages. The seeds, which bear oil, may be eaten raw in the form of nuts.""The fruit is a drupe, and is yellow-orange with grey speckles when ripe. The oval or rounded fruit which has a scaly texture, may take up to a year to ripen and is found at twig ends. These plum-like fruits are ± 50 mm long with a yellow edible flesh. The fruits taste pleasant when completely ripe and tend to ripen on the ground"
Sclerocarya birrea-Marula
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/sclerobirr.htm"The fruit is edible, eaten either fresh or made into a delicious jelly. It also makes alcoholic beer known as Mukumbi by the Vhavenda people. A marula liqueur is available commercially. The white nut is highly nutritious and is eaten as it is or mixed with vegetables. Fruit-farming communities prefer planting a couple of these trees to attract pollinators to their farm in early spring."In the former homeland of Venda it was a criminal offence to cut down a living tree of this species""The edible fruits and the multiple uses associated with almost all parts of the marula, make it one of southern Africa's most valued trees."
Strychnos pungens-Spine-leaved monkey-orange
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11879&page=309http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos_pungensfruit is unique sweet/tart flavour can be almost as large as a grapefruit. Very thick hard woody rind that means it lasts and travels well. Trees very productive and can be grown in arid regions.
Ximenia americana-yellow plum or sea lemon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ximenia_americana"The fruit is edible but very sour"eaten raw and are used to make a sour preserve or an intoxicating drink (Rindl, 1921). The seed and fruit pulp contain hydro-cyanic acid."The oil is extracted from the kernel and used in various ways. An edible, non-drying oil is produced which is suitable for soap manufacture and lubrication and has been used traditionally as a cosmetic to anoint the body and as a cure for chapped and dry feet (Venter and Venter, 1996).
It is also used to daub on the hair as a conditioner. The bushmen oil their bows and bow strings with it, and use it to anoint themselves because it softens the skin. Pedi women use it in preparing traditional leather aprons (Palmer and Pitman, 1972; Booth and Wickens, 1988). The oil is also used to soften leather and is burned as a torch. The bark and roots of both species have a wide variety of medicinal uses and a leaf infusion of Ximenia caffra is thought to dispel bad dreams."
Some other species I have but have no info on are:
artabotrys brachypetalus-Purple hook-berry
Artabotrys monteiroae-Red Hook Berry
Uvaria lucida-(hairy orange brown fruits)
They are all lianes/climbing shrubs in the annonaceae family with edible fruit. Thats about all I could find the fruits are weird looking though!
I can get pictures online but not too sure about the legality of using others pictures the links should have pictures and descriptions though.
As for personal opinions on taste I havnt ever tried most of them sorry. I have had Marula(delicious one of my favorite best description is a slightly tart caramel) I have only ever tasted Strychnos spinosa not the pungens which I am getting but I assume is similar? spinosa is a unique sweet and abit tart flavor very good and juicy. The pungens supposedly has the least amount of alkaloids in the seeds but seeds should still not be eaten.
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