Giant Fiji Longan - Another White Whale or White Elephant?

[Mike T]

A good chum told me of an ex farmer of tropical fruits who  claimed to have found and planted giant Pometia pinnata 10x the usual size.While I am skeptical and said no way and knew the season finished a couple of months ago the farmer returned to the old row of trees and found a couple of late hanging apparently very small examples.If the impossible is true once again it could be something very special.
Please look at the photo at this fruit of apparently Fijian origin and if anyone knows what it is for real let me know.The flesh looks too moist for pometia and the shape is wrong but you never know.I do know I need to bag this fruit and see the seeds to work out what it is for sure.I just received this photo and presume longan is the other fruit.

[starling1]

A good chum told me of an ex farmer of tropical fruits who  claimed to have found and planted giant Pometia pinnata 10x the usual size.While I am skeptical and said no way and knew the season finished a couple of months ago the farmer returned to the old row of trees and found a couple of late hanging apparently very small examples.If the impossible is true once again it could be something very special.
Please look at the photo at this fruit of apparently Fijian origin and if anyone knows what it is for real let me know.The flesh looks too moist for pometia and the shape is wrong but you never know.I do know I need to bag this fruit and see the seeds to work out what it is for sure.I just received this photo and presume longan is the other fruit.

To me that looks like a massive quinepa/mamoncillo with light coloured flesh.

Incredible thing whatever it is.

[Mike T]

Starling that was my initial reaction as well but didn't want to lead the witnesses and prompt it.I have never seen quinepa in the flesh so I don't know.

[Soren]

Looks big - the farmer only have 1 tree of this variety or several with same big fruit size.?

[Mike T]

From what I understand it is a row of trees Soren.

[Mike T]

Correction make that a single tree.

[starling1]

Correction make that a single tree.

ah--well that counts out quinepa. It's dio I believe.

Actually scratch that--according to Wikipedia they can be polygamous.

[fruitlovers]

Looks like Fijian longan to me, but photo of one leaf or a seed would clinch it. Doesn't look 10x bigger than normal. Maybe 2 or 3x larger than normal. Ok that was a tiny one?.....Bring on a grapefruit sized Fijian longan and we can continue the discussion. 
And how is the taste? Or is that irrelevant? 

[jackedfruit]

Correction make that a single tree.

ah--well that counts out quinepa. It's dio I believe.

Actually scratch that--according to Wikipedia they can be polygamous.

Polygami have actually been a major factor in the selection of M.bijugatus so basically all the named varieties (that I know of) are polygamous.

[Mike T]

Oscar I was quoting with the 10x usual size and that would make them grapefruit size. Fiji longan season is long over.If these are smaller than usual due to being the last fruit of season I would like to see big examples in the middle of the cropping time.I know nothing about the taste but they sure look good.
Unfortunately I can get no seeds,test the fruit and I don't even know where the tree is. I will just have have to do some detective work before next January to February and see what happens.

[fruitlovers]

Oscar I was quoting with the 10x usual size and that would make them grapefruit size. Fiji longan season is long over.If these are smaller than usual due to being the last fruit of season I would like to see big examples in the middle of the cropping time.I know nothing about the taste but they sure look good.
Unfortunately I can get no seeds,test the fruit and I don't even know where the tree is. I will just have have to do some detective work before next January to February and see what happens.

Mike T the fruit detective down under? Yes please sniff out that tree location and get me some seeds. Dare i ask how large the seeds are? 

[Mike T]

Oscar I am not the only fruit sleuth on the trail of big pomological game.Lots of forum comrades have a need, a need for seed as well.I don't know the size of the seeds of this fruit.

[Raulglezruiz]

Beautyful Mike,  hopefully is a Pometia,  the skin does look like a Guaya,  but the flesh don't have the regular orange color.........

[Bob407]

Those do look very much like quenepa, but I could be wrong. Mike, I am starting to wonder what you guys have in the soil down under. Everything you come up with dwarfs most other fruits. Any chance a member from Australia could mail me 80 cubic yards of Australian soil?

[ben mango]

taste is really 'meaty'.. good but not as sweet or juicy like other longans. Only ripe on the tree for a short time, unlike regular longan which seem to stay good on the tree for awhile.

[murahilin]

Polygami have actually been a major factor in the selection of M.bijugatus so basically all the named varieties (that I know of) are polygamous.

Most of the named cultivars in FL are not polygamous. Only recently there have been a few introduced from Puerto Rico that show promise but even those have not all been poly.

What named cultivars are you referring to?

[jackedfruit]

Polygami have actually been a major factor in the selection of M.bijugatus so basically all the named varieties (that I know of) are polygamous.

Most of the named cultivars in FL are not polygamous. Only recently there have been a few introduced from Puerto Rico that show promise but even those have not all been poly.

What named cultivars are you referring to?

Oh, that was new to me. I remember reading an article about it a few months back saying recently selected varieties was self-pollinating. The main problem was said to be that male and female flowering (on the same specimen) only coincided for a short period of time whereas the bisexual flowers hade rather poor fruit set. Can it be there are a lot of polygamous varieties but the pollination "within" the specimen is rather unsatisfying and it is, for that reason, recommended to grow more than one?

I believe i.e. both 'Jose Pabon' and 'Ponce' are self-pollinating.

[micah]

Wow!
Mike T you whaler! another amazing fruit you bring to our table.
Will it ever stop?  I hope not.
Dorgon will love these pics..no photo shop necessary

[HMHausman]

While I am skeptical and said no way and knew the season finished a couple of months ago the farmer returned to the old row of trees and found a couple of late hanging apparently very small examples.If the impossible is true once again it could be something very speA good chum told me of an ex farmer of tropical fruits who  claimed to have found and planted giant Pometia pinnata 10x the usual size.cial.
Please look at the photo at this fruit of apparently Fijian origin and if anyone knows what it is for real let me know.The flesh looks too moist for pometia and the shape is wrong but you never know.I do know I need to bag this fruit and see the seeds to work out what it is for sure.I just received this photo and presume longan is the other fruit.

I am not familiar with Fijian Longan but this fruit does very much look like momoncillo/spanish lime/quenepa, but much larger than any I have ever seen.  The skin is the right color but the flesh adherence to seed and seed color and size would be helpful to exclude or ID this fruit. It is an impressive fruit regardless. A description of the flesh texture and feeling on the tongue will also be helpful.

[murahilin]

Oh, that was new to me. I remember reading an article about it a few months back saying recently selected varieties was self-pollinating. The main problem was said to be that male and female flowering (on the same specimen) only coincided for a short period of time whereas the bisexual flowers hade rather poor fruit set. Can it be there are a lot of polygamous varieties but the pollination "within" the specimen is rather unsatisfying and it is, for that reason, recommended to grow more than one?

I believe i.e. both 'Jose Pabon' and 'Ponce' are self-pollinating.

I've brought back Jose Pabon, Ponce, and Sasa varieties from PR and given them to Excalibur for propagation. Those three varieties have been available from TREC since around 2004 though but I didn't know that when I gave those cultivars to Excalibur. I think Jose Pabon and Ponce were donated to TREC by Bryan Brunner.

I think you're right about Jose Pabon and Ponce being self-pollinating, but I am not sure about Sasa. Most of the older named Florida varieties do not seem to be self-pollinating though.

A few years back, I heard of a new spanish lime breeding program by the University of PR. They were studying around 30 or so promising selections if I remember correctly. I am going to see if I can find any updated information about the study.

[Mike T]

The tree was located and visited by a fiji longan enthusiast chum of mine.He confirmed it is a pometia and scrounged a few viable seeds from the ground while he marveled at the Valencia sized shells beneath the tree.I will secure a seedling and when the tree gets revisited next season I hope to get a piece of the action.

My pal advises the ones in this pic are modest in size compared to what the evidence under the tree suggested.The original tree owner said it was his best and great to eat.

[BMc]

Geez!

[Coconut]

Congratulation Mike Tease you did it again, such short month teasing us with more exotic fruit porn of hogzilla amberella plum, Russel Garcinia and Fijian Mythical Logan; thank you! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻So for you guys who are logan connoisseurs, which is a larger and better tasting fruit Fijian or the regular horrible logan that I have found available here in S. Florida.  The best tasting so far are the Biew Kiew variety growing north of Southern Blvd & farther north while south of this Dixie line Biew Kiew flavors & substance goes down hill watery & not crunchy being more tropical.  None of the logans are worth the tummy ache at fruit & steal park and I enjoy throwing the Logans to the ever expanding scrotum snatcher Pacu & Channel catfish fatting them up for a later redneck moonshine date!😉🌜🎣

Congratulation on finding this Dodo bird of a Fijian Logan and possibly Ostrich egg size to beat!  Yes grab this reanimated living fossil before it become extinct again!  Now let's hope it will be exciting in taste as the Russell Garcinia Fruit Porn you recently gave us a wet dream centerfold exposee; which have ruin this old fart Virgin Soul! 👼 I hope this tease will turn out to be a logan and not those absolutely horrible mamocillo or limoncillo the Spanish-Carribean folks enjoy their very brief season here.  A friend of my here have 2,500 hectares laying fallow this year, vegetable to New York are too cut throat  from Mexico so A giant Logan that ate the Big Apple would be of great interest. 🙀

[Mike T]

So far as regular longans go coconut the blew kiews  that I ate today from the Atherton Tablelands are just about as good as it gets.When grown in a subtropical climate this variety has a great  blend of savory and sweet elements making it complex with abundant flesh.I think it is the finest longan.
Fiji longans are as different as a lychee or pulasan but admittedly have a longan flavor quality.They vary quite a lot in size,appearance and eating quality and I suppose they are semi domesticated only.I don't know if I will get to bag seeds next season but it is another frontier.Fruit that are rare and have promise give you something to chase that is interesting.

[druss]

any chance of you getting grafting material,  in case seeds dont come true to type?