Fruit identification

[Weboh]

Does anyone know what this fruit is?



It tastes a little like a guava but really astringent. It has a seed in the middle and peels like a lychee. It's certainly interesting—probably not enough to have a whole tree for it though. Do you think it could be grafted onto a lychee tree since they seem so similar?

[Jesssfl27]

Melicoccus bijugatus or Spanish lime, mamon etc.

[Tropicalnut]

In El Salvador they are called "mamon" but they are sweet. I guess its like the Tamarind, we only have it sour and I didn't know that there was a sweet version of them. and the trees are huge!

[Weboh]

Thanks, guys! Do you think a cutting from this could be grafted onto a lychee or orange tree? Or really, any other variety of fruit tree?

[Cookie Monster]

My wife calls them "talpajocote" :-)

In El Salvador they are called "mamon" but they are sweet. I guess its like the Tamarind, we only have it sour and I didn't know that there was a sweet version of them. and the trees are huge!

[Paquicuba]

Thanks, guys! Do you think a cutting from this could be grafted onto a lychee or orange tree? Or really, any other variety of fruit tree?

Don't think so, but this is a vigorous, fast growing tree that can get huge in no time from seed. A friend of mine had a tree in Cuba (we call it mamoncillo or mamon) and as far as I can remember, it needs to get to a certain size to start bearing fruits and once it fruited, the only way to collect the fruit was by climbing the tree —which is not advisable for the average guy in the U.S. for the following reasons:
1. Climbing trees is something you have to learn as a kid and for that, you were NOT supposed to be a spoiled-stay-home-playing-games-all-day type of kid, you were supposed to be a barefoot street kid, full of scratches and broken bones.
2. If you think you learned with the Boy Scouts how to climb a tree, by now you're most likely fat and heavy and you need to get to the tip of the branches, so you'll break the branches and fall down.
3. If you decide to climb the tree anyway and you fall down, you'll most likely get sued by someone, don't know, but someone will sue you, your wife, your kids, your city, even yourself, so don't go broke for a Spanish Lime tree, it's not worth it.

BTW, I recently got some from my Puerto Rican friend and over there they call it "quenepa"

[bsbullie]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned that except for a variety or two that are hermies, you either need a male and female tree (they are dioecious) or a special grafted tree with both sexes (and they are a pain to graft).

Oh, I sure wouldnt waste my time grafting onto lychee...

[Cookie Monster]

From what I've been told, mamoncillo is one of the hardest fruit trees to graft. If memory serves, Lara's grafter got about 5% - 10% take. Grafts on this species are extremely susceptible to fungus, to the point where it's not really even possible to cover the grafts. I understand that the best method of propagating these is via air layer of large / thick branches.

[Weboh]

Thanks everyone. I guess I won't be getting a tree. It's not good enough for me to want to devote even one tree in my yard to it—much less two. Not to mention how little fruit there was on them for the size of it. I don't think it would be exaggerating to say it was only 1% fruit. It is an interesting taste though; glad I got to try it. 

[Nayelie321]

In Belize most people have Melicoccus sp. which is hermaphroditic and has a more pronounced flavor that the dioceous standard Spanish lime. It’s season is earlier than the Spanish lime around by three months in Belize. Trees bear in 4-5 years there. In terms of production they are definitely produce a large amount I’d say around 20lbs to 50lbs. Trees can be pruned every season to keep them within a certain size and to aid in production. I think Raul had some seeds for sale not too long ago. If you do have space for one tree I’d recommend that instead of the standard Spanish lime. In terms of cold tolorance it should be able to handle mild winters and it can handle droughts.