PomPinn (Pometia Pinnata) Quality Varieties Need to be Found & Imported

[LEOOEL]

I've been fortunate to have this longan cultivar brought to my attention. 'Pometia Pinnata' is also known as 'Kasai,' 'Matoa,' 'Fijian,' 'Crystal longan,' etc.

The flesh is sweet like a longan with a big round seed inside. The fruit is attractive to the eye and is planted to beautify the landscape.

The seed is edible after it is boiled. A 'Kasai' tree can reach heights of 10 to 20 m.

A member of the sapindaceae family, the tree bear fruits twice a year around the month of May to July and September till December.

As can be seen in some of the videos/articles, the fruit is true to seed, it can be propagated by seedlings! And, the tree(s) will bear fruit in 4 to 8 years, not bad at all.

This 'Pometia Pinnata' longan seems to rival or surpass the quality of local longan cultivars ('Kohala,' 'Sri Shompoo,' and 'Biew Kiew') at my location of S. Florida, USA. With such wonderful characteristic qualities and ease of propagation, this longan variety merits all worthwhile efforts to import the seeds into the USA, and into my hands    as quickly as possible.

Borneo Fruits & Food-The Kasai or Matoa Fruit (Pometia Pinnata Forst)

http://fruits-of-world.blogspot.com/2013/09/fijian-longan-or-island-lychee-pometia.html
^ This link says that the plant/tree "is easy to adapt to hot or cold conditions". That gives me hope for Michigan!

http://fruitspecies.blogspot.com/2011/11/fijian-longan.html

http://indonesian-fruit.blogspot.com/2011/12/description-of-fruit-matoa-pometia.html

Borneo Fruit-Sarawak new garden fruit-The Crystal Fruit (Pometia Pinnata)

[Mike T]

There have been a few past threads on this species. It is an old Melanesian species centred on the New guinea to Fiji zone and there are numerous varieties. Fiji Longan is the most common name and they not closely related to longan,lychee and rambutan although in the same Family. Seeds are notoriously short lived and prone to rotting and the species does not have good cold hardiness.

[fruitlovers]

The name Fijian Longan is classic case of bad/confusing common names, as it is neither from Fiji, nor is it a longan. (Another one of my favorite misnomers is Spanish Tamarind (Vangueria edulis), neither a tamarind nor from Spain.)
While Fijian longan is a good fruit, i wouldn't say it rivals a real longan, at least not the Fijian longans i've had here. There is a lot of diversity within this species and i'm trying to access better ones... hint, hint, to Mike!

[BMc]

Its obviously not 'new' nor a 'cultivar' of Longan, with a species name quite distinct.
I've had a few nice ones. Differtent colours. Mine did okay in a spot that got down to 2.c but was not hardy to the wheels of a tractor combined with the stupidity of a brother-in-law.  Spot next to it had Momoncilo growing and I dont think its too much more tender than that sp.
I like them, but I also like many fairly obsure 'wild' saps like Diploglottis and Mischarytera species.

[fruitlovers]

Its obviously not 'new' nor a 'cultivar' of Longan, with a species name quite distinct.
I've had a few nice ones. Differtent colours. Mine did okay in a spot that got down to 2.c but was not hardy to the wheels of a tractor combined with the stupidity of a brother-in-law.  Spot next to it had Momoncilo growing and I dont think its too much more tender than that sp.
I like them, but I also like many fairly obsure 'wild' saps like Diploglottis and Mischarytera species.

Not new, not a cultivar, and not needing importation as it's already here. OK yes we could use more genetic diversity of this species, definitely!

[LEOOEL]

So it's here in the USA, more specifically, in Hawaii. There seem to be several if not many different varieties. As with most fruit species, the fruit quality will fluctuate from one variety to the other. This fruit has a lot of aesthetic and consumption potential, similar to that of longan and lychee. From what I've been able to gather, if I can obtain seed(s) from quality fruit, the seeds are true to seed. So, it's a straightforward easy sequenced process, get the seeds, plant them, wait 4-8 years, eat the fruit. It doesn't get much more straightforward than that. It's a much more easier process than trying to import, say a grafted jackfruit cultivar. I'm surprised that where I live, S. Florida, USA, we're not flooded with different varieties of 'Pometia Pinnata.'

[Mike T]

They come in red, yellow, brown, black and maroon and are a bit drier and more rubbery than longans. Most are not as good as longans but some bigger fruiting cultivars are at least on par with more flesh.Much like breadfruit they were domesticated and spread around the south pacific a long time ago.  For a few years I have been able to pick a selection of better types, that is until last year. I sent a few dead seeds around of pretty good types and finally I got seeds of the top type this season but they already had passed away. At least I'll be able to send dead seeds around of the top type this season.
I found the 'kiss of death' comes after you say, yeah I can get those easily and I'll send you some. That is when fruit suddenly vanish or skip a season.

[LEOOEL]

Scientific Name: Pometia Pinnata (also known as: tava)
Size: typically 39-66 ft. Varies greatly, from a small to very large tree (I love the very large tree part).
Canopy diameter:  33-66 ft
Habitat: Grows naturally in warm to hot, humid subtropical (awesome) and tropical zones, elevation 0-5580 ft (great! where I'm at, we're only a few feet above sea level). With annual rainfall of 60-200 in.
Vegetation: Occurs mainly in evergreen or shortly deciduous, lowland (again, great, this is where I'm at), closed forest and secondary forest.
Soils: Grows on a wide range of soils (fantastic!) with best growth on slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5-8), well drained, fertile loams and clays.
Growth rate: Grows rapidly, typically 3.3-6.6 ft per year (I mean, is there any bad news when it comes to this fruit tree? This is awesome, I almost can't take it).
Main agroforestry uses: Mulch, improved fallows, homegardens (alright! thank you).
Main Products: Timber, fruit.

The greatest utilization of fruits occurs in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji, which are associated with the selection and domestication of superior fruit types and the absence, until recently, of related Asian fruit trees such as rambutan and lychee. The areas where superior, large fruit types are reported from include the following:
Forma pinnata
PNG New Guinea Islands; Tanga (small island located east of New Ireland) has large, sweet-tasting fruits 3-4 times larger than those around Lae, with very thin, red skin.
Solomon Islands; Tevai/Santa Cruz Group, Temotu Province.
Vanuatu; Many localities, including Banks Group, Santo, Malo, Epi, Aneityum.
Fiji; Many localities, including SE Viti Levu, Gau, Kadavu.
Forma glabra
Irian Jaya; Near Jayapura – vars. ‘Kablauw’ and ‘Iwa’ (Sentani language) – thick sweet flesh, tasting like rambutan.

Mike T, Quote: "Most are not as good as longans but some bigger fruiting cultivars are at least on par with more flesh." Yes, this is what I am looking for, and I suspect you and others are also. What are we waiting for, we have to locate and get it/them, specially the high quality variety ones.

http://agroforestry.net/tti/Pometia-tava.pdf

[fruitlovers]

So it's here in the USA, more specifically, in Hawaii. There seem to be several if not many different varieties. As with most fruit species, the fruit quality will fluctuate from one variety to the other. This fruit has a lot of aesthetic and consumption potential, similar to that of longan and lychee. From what I've been able to gather, if I can obtain seed(s) from quality fruit, the seeds are true to seed. So, it's a straightforward easy sequenced process, get the seeds, plant them, wait 4-8 years, eat the fruit. It doesn't get much more straightforward than that. It's a much more easier process than trying to import, say a grafted jackfruit cultivar. I'm surprised that where I live, S. Florida, USA, we're not flooded with different varieties of 'Pometia Pinnata.'

I'm sure it's in Florida also. Look at Whitman's book 5 Decades with Tropical Fruit. His tree was planted in 1959 and fruited in 1969. He calls the fruit "pleasant but not outstanding" (p. 143).  He also mentions they were planted at Florida experimental station in 1962.

[Mike T]

New Ireland, New Britian, Solomons and trobriand Islands are known to have very good types. The season here is over I think.
The trees get trashed by cyclones as they have brittle wood and the reshoot back very quickly.The snapping off of branches rather than being uprooted is their defense against big storms.

[LEOOEL]

I wonder how does the taste of these varieties of 'Pometia Pinnata' compare to a regular longan. The physical characteristic qualities seem superb.

Matoa Fruits of Papua

Rare longan growing at the Penang Tropical Fruit Farm

[fruitlovers]

Pometias are not longans, so they don't taste like longans, but the taste is somewhat similar. I would say they are more mild, subtle taste than longans. First time i tasted them i was pleasantly surprised because i had read in Morton book that they are not very good quality, so i was surprised at how good they were. Julia was wrong! 

[LEOOEL]

Oscar, you were right, there are Fijian longans (Pometia pinnata) in Florida. The first tree arrived in Florida in 1959, and started producing fruit for the first time in 1969. The following is an excerpt of the Article:

The following article, circa 1971, shows that Fijian longan (Pometia pinnata) fruit tree will produce ripe fruit in South Florida, USA.

Fijian Longan
William F. Whitman
Rare Fruit Council International
189 Bal Bay Drive
Bal Harbour, a community located near the north end of Miami Beach, Florida, USA. Between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
The growing medium is an acid pH. 6.4 trucked in black hammock sand soil.
The Fijian longan (Pometia pinnata) has already fruited in South Florida, USA. It is believed to be the first instance of this species bearing in the state.
The Fijian longan described was received in 1959, from Stermer in Hawaii. Since that time, it has averaged nearly two feet in height growth per year, and presently stands at 20 feet with a 23 foot spread, supported by a trunk measuring 9 inches in diameter at ground level.
New flushes of growth, a deep red wine color, can give this member of the Sapindaceae a striking appearance.
The first Fijian longan crop appeared in the fall of 1969 and the tree would possibly have fruited earlier except for hurricane damage.
The newly set fruit is a vivid Chinest red which, upon reaching pea size, gradually disappears and fades into green.
Born in clusters like the lychee, they weigh about eleven to the pound with a flavor resembling a bland tasting longan (Euphoria longana).
The tree flowers in September and fruit bears/ripens in December (in South Florida, USA), when there is a comparative scarcity of other available tropical fruit; on one occasion having put on a second crop during summer!
No injurious insects or diseases have been observed to attack the tree or its fruit.

Full Article: http://fshs.org/proceedings-o/1971-vol-84/323-325%20(WHITMAN).pdf

I'd like to know if the tree metioned in the Article is still there/alive, or if it's been destroyed by hurricanes... I'll see if I can find more info.

With all the wonderful information that you, me and this article have provided, I'm perplexed as to why this fruit is not more prevalent/popular here in South Florida, USA.

[fruitlovers]

With all the wonderful information that you, me and this article have provided, I'm perplexed as to why this fruit is not more prevalent/popular here in South Florida, USA.

My guess is for the same reason that mangosteen is not so prevalent in Florida. Whitman was able to fruit mangosteen also! That alone doesn't mean it's going to become prevalent. I'm guessing that Fijian longan is more susceptible to frost than the info you posted points out. Also as Mike T has stated the wood is very brittle, meaning first Florida Hurricane and they will be blown to kingdom come. Are there any members on this forum in Florida that have tried to grow it?

[Mike T]

Correction the season is not over in my neck of the woods and typically spans the last month of Spring and first month of Summer.

[fruitlovers]

Correction the season is not over in my neck of the woods and typically spans the last month of Spring and first month of Summer.

Send em on over!  I think Leo is right and this is a promising species, especially the more flavorful ones available in Australia. Just to clarify on my earlier posts: I don't know how well they will do in Florida, but i think it's really worth experimenting with, especially in S. Florida. The big stumbling block for establishment of my Pometia plants here has been the rose beetle. They seem to favor this plant over all others. Must be like candy to them. I will have to net them in the future to keep them out.

[BMc]

I wouldnt worry so much about Florida's storms. They come from parts of the world that have massive storms and being brittle is their adaption. The tree snaps, then regrows relatively quickly, as per Mike's post.

[fruitlovers]

I wouldnt worry so much about Florida's storms. They come from parts of the world that have massive storms and being brittle is their adaption. The tree snaps, then regrows relatively quickly, as per Mike's post.

Sorry, but i think it is a worry because i believe that Florida has hurricanes more often than in your area. But maybe i'm wrong?

[LEOOEL]

According to the Article, the first Fijian Longan (pometia pinnata) arrived in South Florida in 1959. That is 54 years to the present, which as Oscar has said, that there is better tasting fruit in Mike T's Australia, this leads me to believe that there has been plenty of time/years for improvements in developing better tasting fruit. I think we can all agree then, that there is better tasting fruit out there, than the bland longan flavor mentioned in the above Article.

Suddenly, I find myself wanting a long tour/vacation through the islands mentioned by Mike T; Tanga, a small island located east of New Ireland; New Britian, Solomons and Trobriand Islands are known to have very good types. And also, New Guinea Islands; Vanuatu; Fiji (does John Caldeira still live there? I think he's been hiding something from us!).

And, last but not least, check out the description of these two varieties:
"Forma glabra
Irian Jaya; Near Jayapura – vars. ‘Kablauw’ and ‘Iwa’ (Sentani language) – thick sweet flesh, tasting like rambutan."

I would love to get a hold of seeds of these last two mentioned varieties, 'Kablauw' and 'Iwa'; I mean, you can't get much more specific than that!;
BTW, where the heck is Irian Jaya? I suspect they'll be experiencing a tourism boost sometime in the near future, if not currently.

[Mike T]

Regardless of cyclone/hurrican intensity or frequency this species handles them well and regrows.They are often tall and thin and this must be part of their strategy New Britian and New Ireland are a bit too equatorial for cyclones, but the Solomons and Fiji and really in the zone.The north eastern side of the Coral Sea where Pometia is most common has thumping cyclones so the hurricanes of Florida should not really wipe adult trees out.

I got some high quality yellow/greens today.

[BMc]

Irian Jaya is Indonesian for Papua (Western Papua). The Indonesian's monitor people who talk about it, so I wont say much more except that you arent likely to get anything in or out of there unless you have a mining contract. Your best hope is that those two cultivars have made their way over the border to Papua New Guinea. My dad's heading up there for some diver masters stuff in a few months, so I'll tell him to keep an eye out if he gets to the mainland much.

[shah8]

I sort of believe that alupags are more worth attempting and breeding/selecting for.

[Mike T]

Fiji longans are better in my view and have more potential for further improvement than alupags.

[fruitlovers]

I sort of believe that alupags are more worth attempting and breeding/selecting for.

Alupag is a lot more closely related to longan than is pometia, and alupag tastes a lot more like longan. The main problem with alupag is that the pulp to seed ratio is not good, in other words not much to eat. The good thing about alupag is that they fruit consistently here every year, so they are more tropical than longans. I think increasing the amount of pulp would probably not be so hard. But i think both alupag and pometia very worthy of attempts at improving their quality.

[fruitlovers]

According to the Article, the first Fijian Longan (pometia pinnata) arrived in South Florida in 1959. That is 54 years to the present, which as Oscar has said, that there is better tasting fruit in Mike T's Australia, this leads me to believe that there has been plenty of time/years for improvements in developing better tasting fruit. I think we can all agree then, that there is better tasting fruit out there, than the bland longan flavor mentioned in the above Article.

Suddenly, I find myself wanting a long tour/vacation through the islands mentioned by Mike T; Tanga, a small island located east of New Ireland; New Britian, Solomons and Trobriand Islands are known to have very good types. And also, New Guinea Islands; Vanuatu; Fiji (does John Caldeira still live there? I think he's been hiding something from us!).

And, last but not least, check out the description of these two varieties:
"Forma glabra
Irian Jaya; Near Jayapura – vars. ‘Kablauw’ and ‘Iwa’ (Sentani language) – thick sweet flesh, tasting like rambutan."

I would love to get a hold of seeds of these last two mentioned varieties, 'Kablauw' and 'Iwa'; I mean, you can't get much more specific than that!;
BTW, where the heck is Irian Jaya? I suspect they'll be experiencing a tourism boost sometime in the near future, if not currently.

I don't think it's the number of years improving the fruits that has led to better fruits. The problem is rather that really good types were never introduced into USA in the first place. I don't think anyone here had a good idea of the amount of diversity that exists in this species. It wasn't until Maurice Kong's trip to Australia and his article about his trip in Fruit Gardener that i myself got clued in to that diversity. One big problem i think is that Pometia pinnata is mostly grown as a lumber tree, so that the breeding efforts may not have been so much focused on the fruits, but rather on rapid growth and good quality lumber.