Author Topic: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).  (Read 4004 times)

JFranco

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Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« on: October 30, 2015, 04:56:39 PM »
Hi!

Is anyone growing this fruit? I would like to know more about growing conditions of this tree.

Thank you,

Joćo Franco

FlyingFoxFruits

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2015, 05:22:26 PM »
i got a few of these planted out actually.

they seem to be very rugged...handling high temps, droughts, and even poor drainage....and some freezes.

i have a special fondness for the African fruit trees, so i made sure to give these a spot in the yard....

i believe i have two species, one was S. spinosa, i forget the other....

has been a slow grower for me, but i neglected them
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stuartdaly88

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2015, 06:28:51 PM »
Doesn't like to much fertilisers when young but is pretty rugged otherwise. I have seen Strychnos pungens handle rather cold temps I havnt tested spinosa yet though.
I love the look of this genus leaves:):D
Strangely they havnt loved full.sun where I live but we have hectic UV levels. In Isreal they paint the trunks of severely pruned trees white(now that's where I think you could get the best of this genus the isreali spinosa fruit look amazing almost a different species!) I only plants.from wild material unfortunately :(

I find all Strychnos seeds extremely difficult to germinate but spinosa is probably the easiest iv tried(though still not easy)
Also to note is this is another one of those zombie seedlings... You are 100% sure it's.dead almost throw it out and it sprouts a new shoot ha ha

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
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mwambao

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2015, 07:13:14 PM »
Have one that grew wild in my place.Think my neibouring baboons might have thrown seeds and it grew by it self.
We usualy dont consume these fruits.Was going to have it axed untill "Coconut" advised not to cause the bark of the tree is good to cure snake bites.Will post picture of the tree






FlyingFoxFruits

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2015, 07:35:41 PM »
Not sure if that is the same plant I have.

Mine has very small leaves, like 1/8 the size of yours...

Maybe it's because it's still in the juvenile phase? Less than 3ft
Have one that grew wild in my place.Think my neibouring baboons might have thrown seeds and it grew by it self.
We usualy dont consume these fruits.Was going to have it axed untill "Coconut" advised not to cause the bark of the tree is good to cure snake bites.Will post picture of the tree





« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 07:37:21 PM by FlyingFoxFruits »
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BrianL

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2015, 12:57:20 AM »
I have two spinosa  in pots.  They seemed to be hardy, but hurt by frost.  They always came back.  Maybe because they were little?

stuartdaly88

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2015, 04:12:22 AM »
Here are juvenile spinosa leaves with my hand for context.
Adult leaves can be alot bigger and i think there is abit of variability in different plants but also closely related species have similar leaves pungens leaves are smaller and harder in the ones iv seen
 

« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 04:21:59 AM by stuartdaly88 »
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

stuartdaly88

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2015, 04:16:58 AM »
Have one that grew wild in my place.Think my neibouring baboons might have thrown seeds and it grew by it self.
We usualy dont consume these fruits.Was going to have it axed untill "Coconut" advised not to cause the bark of the tree is good to cure snake bites.Will post picture of the tree





Be careful with the bark Mwambao I think.it would only help with poison that slows down the cardiovascular system. The alkaloid is in fact strychnine a dangerous poison and stimulant so I wouldn't use it without alot of knowledge on dosing protocols and when it could be used.
The fruit is quit nice for some specimens though:)
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

JFranco

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2015, 05:04:09 AM »
Hi!

Thank you for your answers! I will get some seeds soon, I hope they grow well here. Some people talk good of the fruit, others do not, it must be a question of taste.

Joćo Franco

rcardaman

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2015, 11:53:00 AM »
I have some seedlings of Strychnos spinosa.  Germination was a bit unusual for epigeal germination.  I did the baggie method until roots appeared, then planted the seeds in pots. The germination rate was good at 9 out of 10.   After that, it was a very long time until the stems broke the soil surface (more like the time frame of hypogeal germination).  I started to think the seeds had rotted, but roots were growing out the bottom of the pots.  Finally, the seeds raised above the surface, but not by making a loop with the stem and pulling the leaves free of the seed coat.  Instead, they just raised into an upright position, just above the soil surface.  Then they just sat there, little stems with brown caps.  After a few weeks like this, with no progress at all,  I finally decided to cut the seed coats from them.  Some of the seed leaves had withered, but I was able to get 6 out of 9 healthy seedlings.

I went into some detail about this because of the many types of seeds I've germinated over the years, next to T. cacao this was the strangest.






Richard

stuartdaly88

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Re: Green monkey orange (strychnos spinosa).
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2016, 03:41:37 PM »
Got what I think is a spinosa fruit from local botanical gardens a couple months ago. It was completely green then but has been sitting in the fruit bowl and gone nice and yellow.


Even unopened the shell has an amazing floral smell.

The shell is hard but easy to open with a serrated knife.
Inside the enticing smell was stronger


The pulp surrounds smooth flattens kidney shaped seeds. It was abit tart. Nowhere near face puckering tart but not really much sweetness. The flavor behind the tart is really nice and difficult to explain. I wonder if fruits ripened for longer on the tree would have more sweetness?
« Last Edit: October 02, 2016, 03:45:50 PM by stuartdaly88 »
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau