Yep in the book his son had a place for koala longans and it got flooded during Andrew. Right off silver palm drive in Princeton I believe.

The Dimocarpus longan ‘Kohala’ is the variety we all know very well, we thank William “Bill” Whitman for this introduction to Florida. To note, since you mentioned the flood after hurricane Andrew, the grove survived. Aside from 500 acres of longan being planted in Homestead, all airlayered from Bill Whitman’s 1 tree, his son’s grove was also sourced from airlayers from this specimen.

I invite anyone to celebrate the longan at the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead’s Redland, on JUNE 7th The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami will be celebrating BILL WHITMAN DAY, see official Miami-Dade County Proclamtion below! Bill planted a ‘Kohala’ longan to commemorate his efforts on creating a new agricultural industry in Florida. We owe a lot to him for his dedication and the inspiration he has provoked.

At one time his son, Chris Whitman, had a nursery in FL.

Correct it was his son Chris. It was located south of Miami heading towards the Redland / Homestead area.

Check out this cool flyer I stumbled upon. 

Hi All, going way back about 30 years ago, there was a Bill Whitman that had a nursery that shipped tropical fruit trees to Ca.  to include jaboticaba and only labeled as jaboticaba, does anyone have any idea what he was selling at the time??       Regards    Patrick

If it’s the same Jaboticaba that William “Bill” Whitman had labeled in his personal catalog in his book, it’s either a Plinia cauliflora or Myrciaria jaboticaba, both show Grafted, no further info found aside from a comment I read in one The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami, Tropical Fruit News magazines from the 90s, in which he calls it a (Jumbo). Saw that this week...

It would be hard to determine the exact one they were selling and where they were propagating from. I also checked a few RFCI Yearbooks & Fruit Lists...everything in the 1970s / 1980s doesn’t list a cultivar. Hope this helps.

Do you have a 30 year old specimen purchased from Whitman? Mind sharing some photos?

There's excellent white guavas that are not the 'Thai White'. If they are all from Cuba, we aren't sure but they've been excellent when eaten out of hand.

Thanks for posting. Looks like Fairchild (FTBG) is a bit behind on updating the site, even though the link and title are updated. The program and info still shows last year’s Haiti feature.

It’s cool to note that this is the 2nd year that it's a Tropical Fruit festival in addition to the usual mangos.

The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami will be there as usual with fruits, veggies and a fruit tree selection of choice cultivars & grafted specimens. Drop by our area and say hi, pick up a member form for the RFCI! Maurice Kong always sharp & informative, offering fruit wisdom.

The Mango and Tropical Fruit Festival - Celebrating the Mangos of the Dominican Republic

Regarding Roblack's suggestion of helping out, it may prove to be a good idea but some coordination is needed. I think it could be sensible to use the RFCI, Miami to help filter submissions to assist with relieving Fairchild of any additional duties for the festival. The employees really do so much. I imagine any mangos not hand delivered would need to be mailed, and they must make it on time for the display / mango auction / fundraiser. That's generally what gives Dr. Noris Ledesma, FTBG's Curator of Tropical Fruit, the most difficultly, the timing of it all.

The other consideration is how many cultivars can members supply them with that aren't already available via their sources and collection of fruiting specimens?

Could be a good idea, just sharing some thoughts and let me know however the RFCI can assist, perhaps compiling a potential cultivar submission sheet or something similar.

Wonder what Squam256 has to say about the mango assistance. I forget the total number of mangos usually displayed.

A familiar face at Fairchild's Mango festival is Mark Diamond who produced this cool poster of 220 varieties a few years ago. He's a good guy and one of the leading 3d photographers in the world. A pioneer among us, who loves tropical fruit.

http://www.diamondimages.com/mangoposter/

There’s also Tropical Fruit & Vegetable Society of Redland that meets at the Fruit & Spice Park. Not RFCI an independent club.

https://www.facebook.com/Tropical-Fruit-Vegetable-Society-of-Redland-485355631595237/

The purpose of the RFCI is to unite Florida & the international community. This was strong until the Seed Exchange suffered due to the pressure from govt. Imported seeds were being irradiated, I can share species, if anyone is interested.

Miami, as the Headquarters and original RFC, was behind the seeds and plant introductions via the RFCI Plant Introduction Committee & Tropical Fruit News (TFN) magazine. The RFCI also spread to Australia at its peak. There's good opportunities for all RFCI Chapters & other fruit clubs to publish an end of the year compilation Newsletter. Originally the RFC then later RFCI, something to note.

The Rare Fruit Council International, Inc. (RFCI), Miami, Florida was founded in 1955.

“The “Rare Fruit Council”, as the name implies, is a group devoted primarily to the study and advancement of the lesser-known tropical fruits which have not yet achieved economic importance or are not cultivated on a large scale in this country. It affords an excellent opportunity to assemble monthly, in a congenial group, those interested in this fascinating field of endeavor. The enthusiasm shown by this small gathering leads us to anticipate a bright future. It is hoped the Rare Fruit Council will continue to grow and its members, working as a team, make a permanent contribution to the advancement of tropical pomology around the globe, as well as in our own backyard” of South Florida.” – William "Bill" Whitman, Salvatore Mauro (1955, Florida State Horticultural Society)

The RARE FRUIT COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (RFCI), founded in 1955 with headquarters in Miami, Florida, is the premier organization dedicated to the education, introduction, & promotion of rare tropical fruits. Through close ties with botanical collections and horticultural research centers worldwide, the RFCI has become a major international source of information regarding tropical fruits. The RFCI has introduced species or varieties of rare fruits into many parts of the world. In addition, the RFCI has been helpful in establishing the tropical fruit industry in the United States.

http://RareFruitCouncil.org

Here are some of my favorites from meetings of the past 2-3 years of The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami, Florida. I can't guarantee that everyone here is able to travel, these are just ideas from the Miami area. Although, we have welcomed various speakers from around Florida which is always nice. We have also approached non fruit topics which keeps it fun. See the list below.

I personally, highly recommend Dr. Stephen Vernon's program on Roselle and Hibiscus. Great topic not covered by many, have learned a lot from him.
Contact can be made via http://RareFruitCouncil.org

Dr. Stephen Vernon "About Roselle" (Vice President, Rare Fruit Council International RFCI, Miami, Florida)

Chris Rollins “Fruits of Tropical Asia”

Carlos De La Torre "Growing Techniques for Avocados" (Homestead, Florida) https://www.myavocadotrees.com/

Dylan Terry "Growing a Food Forest" (Ready To Grow Gardens, Miami, Florida)

John Goss "Heliconia and Ginger Plants" (Jupiter, Florida) https://www.facebook.com/JGSTROPICLANPLANTS/

Dr. George Fitzpatrick - “Making & Using High Quality Compost” (Co-Editor, Florida State Horticultural Society, FSHS)

Noris Ledesma - “Follow Cacao’s Journey Around the world & South Florida” (FTBG, Coral Gables, Florida)

Jorge J. Zaldivar "The History of Guava & Seed Introduction in Florida" (Guavonia Guava Grove, Homestead’s Redland, Florida) http://GuavaRico.com

Scott Lyons “Growing Mushrooms and Preparing Kombucha” (Sublicious Farms, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) http://www.subfarms.com/

Alexander Salazar “Growing The Best Mangos” (Tropical Acres Farms “Sturrock Groves”, West Palm Beach, Florida) https://tropicalacresfarms.com/

Mike Heckart “Solanaceae the Nightshade Family” (Wicked Mikes Edible Plants, Miami, Florida) https://www.facebook.com/wickedmikesmiami/

Har Mahdeem “Plant Nutrition” (Palm Beach Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council International, Florida)

What cultivar if known?

Emailed South Florida Palm Society (SFPS) President to try and book him, I suggested the Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI), Miami be invited as well to make it a joint meeting. Vernmented, thanks for the tip and for posting in this thread, much appreciated. Hope to add some later this evening when I have more time.

Got the email blast, but this post really makes it click.

Thanks for recommending Keith Zimmerman, The Rare Fruit Council Intl., Inc. (RFCI) Miami is booked until 2021, but this is certainly something I will send over to my fellow South Florida Palm Society (SFPS) board members. Would be great to have him speak at either SFPS or the RFCI in Miami. We can try to invite both clubs since the topic is pertinent & unique, may I add.

Appreciate the tip.

Would be nice if we could continue the thread linked below by continuing to add more speakers. I will also post RFCI, Miami speaker lists as well to encourage more of our speakers heading north, and hopefully some northern Floridians heading south. Our state deserves this.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=24953.0

Thanks for the info, will report with ripe fruit for confirmation.

Having some trouble identifying this fruit which seems to be Sapotaceae, has latex. Don't know the genus or species, any help is much appreciated. Fruit was found on the ground as shown.



Cut open


Thanks in advance.

What's the source of your guava? Cultivars vary drastically, with guava you have to keep searching. Vegetative propagation of something that favors your taste buds is the catch, not everyones favorite will be the same. I cultivate various cultivars and many are distinct. Eat the skin also, highly nutritious and has a lot of flavor.

I only wish they tasted as good as they smell.

Time to find your variety of choice, everyone has theirs.