the taste of Olosapo

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Thanks Felipe, Red durian and Oscar!

I've had my facts twisted up all of these year!  thanks for helping me see the light!

now I can say the Olosapo is closely related to a cocoplum!

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Oscar,

Licania is not on the same family as a rose, it's same as a cocoplum, just like Coupeia.

now we are even.   

[red durian]

Oscar,

Licania is not on the same family as a rose, it's same as a cocoplum, just like Coupeia.

now we are even.   

Oscar wrote that Licania and Coupeia are in the same family, just as you have now... but don't worry, he is bound to slip up sooner or later.

I only know massive Licania trees whose leaves aren't even visible way up in the canopy, but the fruit is very clearly of the same family with almost the same taste and same big hairy seed... just on a different scale.  In Belize they are known as Monkey Fruit and Baboon Cap.

[fruitlovers]

Oscar,

Licania is not on the same family as a rose, it's same as a cocoplum, just like Coupeia.

now we are even.   

?? Now you gone and did it. You made me quote myself:
"Red durian is right. It (olosapo) is in family of Chrysobalanaceae, not in Roseacea (rose) family. That would put olosapo in same family as sansapote (Licania genus)."

[fruitlovers]

Oscar,

Licania is not on the same family as a rose, it's same as a cocoplum, just like Coupeia.

now we are even.   

Oscar wrote that Licania and Coupeia are in the same family, just as you have now... but don't worry, he is bound to slip up sooner or later.

I only know massive Licania trees whose leaves aren't even visible way up in the canopy, but the fruit is very clearly of the same family with almost the same taste and same big hairy seed... just on a different scale.  In Belize they are known as Monkey Fruit and Baboon Cap.

Yeah, even the infamous Bill Whitman slipped up. Did you notice that the article incorrectly calling olosapo in rose family is by Bill?

[FlyingFoxFruits]

oooops!

I misread Oscars comment

thanks again Red D and Oscar for the correction !!!

[vitiga]

Any seedlings or seeds available ?

[Tropicalnut]

I have been trying to remember the name of this tree for months before I went to El Salvador!.Thanks you guys!!!
I have fun memories of the fruit my friend used to bring me at school by the bags full! My aunt said it was called "sunzilla" because the seeds resembles that of the  Sunza (Licania platipus) fruit. (I don't know if she is right) all I know that my friend's tree was about 50 feet tall and only her father could climb it and cut the fruit, so he made a point of getting the most he could in one trip.
She used to bring me the fruit when they were yellow but firm and I would just wash them and eat them when they were still fairly firm  skins and all! Unfortunately not many people like this fruit over there and its not cultivated and sold in the local markets.
I would love to have one of those trees in my yard, but I don't know if they will survive in the phoenix AZ.a area. XE

[Cookie Monster]

I bet that it would do fine there. The trees here have been fine after our cold spells where temps have dipped into the low 30's. The two problems I've had are: a) it hates my soil, and b) they can take many years to fruit. They are actually really good though.

Olosapo trees are slow growers. It's the sunza that gets big.

I have been contemplating buying a couple of cubic yards of peat moss to amend a planting hole for an olosapo tree. It seems to be really averse to high ph soil.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I bet that it would do fine there. The trees here have been fine after our cold spells where temps have dipped into the low 30's. The two problems I've had are: a) it hates my soil, and b) they can take many years to fruit. They are actually really good though.

Olosapo trees are slow growers. It's the sunza that gets big.

I have been contemplating buying a couple of cubic yards of peat moss to amend a planting hole for an olosapo tree. It seems to be really averse to high ph soil.

strange, the trees at fruit and spice park look great, and I hadn't heard of them struggling with pH issues.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

There are some really good tasting cultivars in El Salvador, where it's called sapotillo if I remember correctly. I have a tree that's about 6 years old and has yet to even flower. Slow growing, intolerant of high ph soil without foliar spraying.

that's strange...the trees are fruit and spice are doing well.

lol déjà vu!

[Tropicalnut]

Great! thanks for the info Cookie monster, now where to get the trees from? Any ideas?

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

There are some really good tasting cultivars in El Salvador, where it's called sapotillo if I remember correctly. I have a tree that's about 6 years old and has yet to even flower. Slow growing, intolerant of high ph soil without foliar spraying.

that's strange...the trees are fruit and spice are doing well.

lol déjà vu!

hehe just read the comments....interesting fruit, Adão. 

[Cookie Monster]

Yah, my best guess is that the soil in the redlands is very rich in iron (hence the reddish hue) -- so much so that there is sufficient despite the high pH. Quite possibly, the clayey texture of the soil may also help. Apparently nutrient availability is a factor of more than just pH.

Mine is horribly chlorotic. It will green up a bit if I hit it with sulfur, but it's very short lived.

I was finally able to get my carambola to green up with a strong dose of sulfur. Got a massive bumper crop this summer and it has another massive crop on the way.

I obtained seeds two ways -- from the Fruit and Spice Park and from family members in El Salvador. I actually liked the ES ones better. I have a tree from ES that's around 6 years old and doing quite well in a pot with peat moss / pine bark mix. But the minute I drop it in the soil, it will turn chameleon on me and try to blend with the color of the other chlorotic trees in the garden -- Yellow!

[vitiga]

If anyone can supply seeds or seedlings from El Salvador, I am definitely interested. Please PM me, thanks

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I could be mistaken, but I've heard that it doesn't matter how much Fe is naturally present in the soil.

If your pH is too high, it causes the nutrients to get locked up, thus making the iron unavailable to the plant.

Yah, my best guess is that the soil in the redlands is very rich in iron (hence the reddish hue) -- so much so that there is sufficient despite the high pH. Quite possibly, the clayey texture of the soil may also help. Apparently nutrient availability is a factor of more than just pH.

Mine is horribly chlorotic. It will green up a bit if I hit it with sulfur, but it's very short lived.

I was finally able to get my carambola to green up with a strong dose of sulfur. Got a massive bumper crop this summer and it has another massive crop on the way.

I obtained seeds two ways -- from the Fruit and Spice Park and from family members in El Salvador. I actually liked the ES ones better. I have a tree from ES that's around 6 years old and doing quite well in a pot with peat moss / pine bark mix. But the minute I drop it in the soil, it will turn chameleon on me and try to blend with the color of the other chlorotic trees in the garden -- Yellow!

[Cookie Monster]

Yes, the calcium binds with iron and many other micronutrients. But, I wonder if there is just so much present that there is sufficient for the tree? At any rate, I think it's more complex than just pH, because it doesn't make sense that my tree (which is a seedling of the F&S tree) is terribly chlorotic while the parent tree is thriving. I'd love to get a soil expert out here to solve the mystery.

I could be mistaken, but I've heard that it doesn't matter how much Fe is naturally present in the soil.

If your pH is too high, it causes the nutrients to get locked up, thus making the iron unavailable to the plant.

[siafu]

Yes, the calcium binds with iron and many other micronutrients. But, I wonder if there is just so much present that there is sufficient for the tree? At any rate, I think it's more complex than just pH, because it doesn't make sense that my tree (which is a seedling of the F&S tree) is terribly chlorotic while the parent tree is thriving. I'd love to get a soil expert out here to solve the mystery.

It also seems to depend on the plant species and also its age.

I have shallow alkaline soil and have seen countless plants
doing well in pots and then turn yellow once planted.
They green up somewhat with the first Autumn rains. (Rain water does
make a lot of difference.)

Interestingly, I have also seen plants improve with age to the point
that they no longer look chlorotic.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I was going to ask if you are using city water...(thinking that maybe it's the fluoride, or chloramine)...but I just remembered, I had seedlings growing at my location with city water, and they handled it with no problem.

I also wonder if they have been treating the Olosapo trees at F & S, drenching them with chelated Fe?  I know they hit the jaboticabas with micros, and chelated Fe....but I was under the impression that the Olosapo thrives without special care.

I have a few contacts there, maybe I can find out if they have been applying chelated Fe.

also, the point that Siafu makes in definitely true...as a tree get's older, it builds resistance to all types of stress (heat, cold, drought, flooding, pH).

Yes, the calcium binds with iron and many other micronutrients. But, I wonder if there is just so much present that there is sufficient for the tree? At any rate, I think it's more complex than just pH, because it doesn't make sense that my tree (which is a seedling of the F&S tree) is terribly chlorotic while the parent tree is thriving. I'd love to get a soil expert out here to solve the mystery.

I could be mistaken, but I've heard that it doesn't matter how much Fe is naturally present in the soil.

If your pH is too high, it causes the nutrients to get locked up, thus making the iron unavailable to the plant.

[Cookie Monster]

My experience with chlorosis in trees, especially the olosapo, is that the decline and chlorosis gets worse with age. My tree is somewhere around 8 years old and has been in ground for over 6. What normally happens is that after 5 or 6 years, I get bored of watching the slow death march and simply yank the tree. I've let this one go longer because my wife will doink me over the head if I remove it, and it's so miserable that it has few leaves to shade out surrounding trees.

I'd be curious to see what they are doing at F&S, but I've tried just about everything. Har was doing drenches and foliar spray for while. The only difference was that the leaves developed these cute little green freckles on a yellow background (from where the leaves were able to absorb some iron). Heavy sulfur application is the only thing that makes a noticeable difference, but it's very short lived.

I haven't watered my in ground trees for a couple of years. This year, I had to fire up the sprinklers (which draw from the canal) due to the lack of rain that was causing decline in established trees.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Cookiemonster,

I have something that might help!

if you want some to try I can send you some for free

a little bit goes a long way....it's basically a soil inoculant, with beneficial biology, and humic acid, and more...

http://www.turfprousa.com/agripro_dry_1004a.html

 

My experience with chlorosis in trees, especially the olosapo, is that the decline and chlorosis gets worse with age. My tree is somewhere around 8 years old and has been in ground for over 6. What normally happens is that after 5 or 6 years, I get bored of watching the slow death march and simply yank the tree. I've let this one go longer because my wife will doink me over the head if I remove it, and it's so miserable that it has few leaves to shade out surrounding trees.

I'd be curious to see what they are doing at F&S, but I've tried just about everything. Har was doing drenches and foliar spray for while. The only difference was that the leaves developed these cute little green freckles on a yellow background (from where the leaves were able to absorb some iron). Heavy sulfur application is the only thing that makes a noticeable difference, but it's very short lived.

I haven't watered my in ground trees for a couple of years. This year, I had to fire up the sprinklers (which draw from the canal) due to the lack of rain that was causing decline in established trees.

[Cookie Monster]

haha thanks! I should tell you though -- the soil is super rich in beneficial bacteria, lignin, etc. I've laid down hundreds of cubic yards worth of tree trimmer mulch (I'm getting close to 1,000 cubic yards worth) over the past 6 or so years. I took what was previously 3 inches worth of 50 / 50 mix (muck + sand) and added 6 inches of pitch black compost (9 inches in some places). The ground is covered with worm castings. The problem is that just below that 9 - 12 inches of soil is limestone rubble.

During the winter months, I generally lay down about 250 cubic yards of tree trimmer mulch (10 loads from a custom built 30 yard truck). I do it in the winter months so that the guy I pay to move the mulch doesn't pass out from the heat :-). Costs me around 2k just in hourly labor. But, my yard is the only one in the canal area where most trees thrive, so it's worth it. In retrospect, I probably should have bought a pad up in the palm beach area with better soil.. but hindsight 20/20.

(All of those potted plants that my wife used to have -- 90% are gone. I deleted about 2,500 - 5,000 containers and gave the wife a confined area :-). The yard is a lot more open from when you last saw it.)