Below is just a sampler of the 350+ specimen plants in the garden. Please note tree heights are in their respective native regions. Different variables such as climate, soil type, rainfall, etc. can affect ultimate height. Also, the observations about the flavor are my own. Nutritional information, native tree heights, and alot of my research is from 'Fruits of Warm Climate' by J. Morton. This is a great resource for more info on these and other species.
Capulin
Family: Muntingiaceae •
Genus: Muntingia •
Species: calabura •
Country of Origin: Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America & western South America •
Common Names: Capulin, Cotton Candy Fruit, Jamaican Cherry •
This is a fast growing, some say invasive, medium sized tree that can reach 25 to 40 feet high. It will thrive in any soil type. It has strawberry like flowers and it's red colored berries taste like cotton candy, Really! Muntingia calabura is the sole species in the genus Muntingia. Which means it is monotypic. [1]
| Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion | |
| Moisture | 77.8 g |
| Protein | 0.324 g |
| Fat | 1.56 g |
| Fiber | 4.6 g |
| Ash | 1.14 g |
| Calcium | 124.6 mg |
| Phosphorus | 84.0 mg |
| Iron | 1.18 mg |
| Carotene | 0.019 mg |
| Thiamine | 0.065 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.037 mg |
| Niacin | 0.554 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid | 80.5 mg |
Jackfruit
Family: Moraceae •
Genus: Artocarpus •
Species: heterophyllus •
Country of Origin: India, Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka •
Common Names: Jackfruit, Jak-fruit, Jak, Jaca •
The largest tree borne fruit in the world. This is a large tree that can reach 30 to 70 feet high. Although, I doubt it will get that big here in south Florida. The edible arils [2] taste like Bubble Yum™ bubblegum and bananas. I had one but it died, I'm a terrible gardener, ha-hah. My friend is sending me some seeds so soon I'll have a new one. I won't have to wait long for fruit, most sources say that this species is precocious, it should start fruiting after three years!
| Pulp (ripe-fresh) | Seeds (fresh) | Seeds (dried) | |
| Calories | 98 | ||
| Moisture | 72.0-77.2 g | 51.6-57.77 g | |
| Protein | 1.3-1.9 g | 6.6 g | |
| Fat | 0.1-0.3 g | 0.4 g | |
| Carbohydrates | 18.9-25.4 g | 38.4 g | |
| Fiber | 1.0-1.1 g | 1.5 g | |
| Ash | 0.8-1.0 g | 1.25-1.50 g | 2.96% |
| Calcium | 22 mg | 0.05-0.55 mg | 0.13% |
| Phosphorus | 38 mg | 0.13-0.23 mg | 0.54% |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.002-1.2 mg | 0.005% |
| Sodium | 2 mg | ||
| Potassium | 407 mg | ||
| Vitamin A | 540 I.U. | ||
| Thiamine | 0.03 mg | ||
| Niacin | 4 mg | ||
| Ascorbic Acid | 8-10 mg |
Carambola
Family: Oxalidaceae •
Genus: Averrhoa •
Species: carambola •
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka •
Common Names: Carambola, Starfruit, Balimbing •
I'm sure everyone has seen a Starfruit by now since they sell them in regular grocery stores. This is a small tree that can reach 20 to 30 ft. There are many different cultivars available. I'm not sure which one this is because it was not labeled, phooey! I'm sure someone knows which it is. I'll post it when I do a little research. These typically have either sweet or sour fruit. I have one I grew from seed and I'm not sure how it will taste. If it turns out to be sour or insipid. I'll be able to get budwood for grafting [3] and they have many cultivars to use of both types. That is a fringe benefit of being a member. Maybe I'll graft more than one variety onto my tree!
| Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion* | |
| Calories | 35.7 |
| Moisture | 89.0-91.0 g |
| Protein | 0.38 g |
| Fat | 0.08 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9.38 g |
| Fiber | 0.80-0.90 g |
| Ash | 0.26-0.40 g |
| Calcium | 4.4-6.O mg |
| Phosphorus | 15.5-21.0 mg |
| Iron | 0.32-1.65 mg |
| Carotene | 0.003-0.552 mg |
| Thiamine | 0.03-0.038 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.019-0.03 mg |
| Niacin | 0.294-0.38 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid* | 26.0-53.1 mg |
Mamey Sapote
Family: Sapotaceae •Genus: Pouteria •
Species: sapota •
Country of Origin: Central America •
Common Names: Mamey Sapote •
This is a large tree that can reach 60 to 130 feet . I think this fruit is terrible, but lots of other people love it. It tastes like pumpkin to me which is why I don't like it! In Miami, you can buy milkshakes made from this everywhere. It's relatives Canistel (Pouteria campechiana) and Green Sapote (Pouteria viridis) have that similar sapote flavor, yuck.
Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*
| Calories | 114.5 |
| Moisture | 55.3-73.1 g |
| Protein | 0.188-1.97 g |
| Fat | |
| Carbohydrates | |
| Fiber | 1.21-3.20 g |
| Ash | 0.89-1.32 g |
| Calcium | 28.2-121.0 mg |
| Phosphorus | 22.9-33.1 mg |
| Iron | 0.52-2.62 mg |
| Carotene | 0.045-0.665 mg |
| Thiamine | 0.002-0.025 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.006-0.046 mg |
| Niacin | 1.574-2.580 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid | 8.8-40.0 mg |
| Amino Acids: | |
| Tryptophan | 19 mg |
| Methionine | 12 mg |
| Lysine | 90 mg |
Tamarind
Family: Leguminosae •Genus: Tamarindus •
Species: indica •
Country of Origin: Africa •
Common Names: Tamarind, Tamarindo, Asam Jawa •
I love to eat these right off the tree. Yep, even the sour ones! There are two types sweet and sour, sort of like the Carambola. Many things are made from this including Worcestershire Sauce™ , Jarritos Tamarindo™ a tamarind flavored fruit soda from Mexico, & De la Rosa Pulparindo™ tamarind candy just to name a few. Tamarind is used worldwide in many ways. This is a slow growing but ultimately large tree that can reach 80 to 100 feet. I've never seen one that big here. An added bonus are the beautiful flowers, seen above, and the furrowed trunk.
Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion
| Pulp (ripe) * | Leaves (young) | Flowers | |
| Calories | 115 | ||
| Moisture | 28.2-52 g | 70.5 g | 80 g |
| Protein | 3.10 g | 5.8 g | 0.45 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g | 2.1 g | 1.54 g |
| Fiber | 5.6 g | 1.9 g | 1.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67.4 g | 18.2 g | |
| Invert Sugars | 30-41 g | ||
| (70% glucose; 30% fructose) | |||
| Ash | 2.9 g | 1.5 g | 0.72 g |
| Calcium | 35-170 mg | 101 mg | 35.5 mg |
| Magnesium | 71 mg | ||
| Phosphorus | 54-110 mg | 140 mg | 45.6 mg |
| Iron | 1.3-10.9 mg | 5.2 mg | 1.5 mg |
| Copper | 2.09 mg | ||
| Chlorine | 94 mg | ||
| Sulfur | 63 mg | ||
| Sodium | 24 mg | ||
| Potassium | 375 mg | ||
| Vitamin A | 15 I.U. | 250 mcg | 0.31 mg |
| Thiamine | 0.16 mg | 0.24 mg | 0.072 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.07 mg | 0.17 mg | 0.148 mg |
| Niacin | 0.6-0.7 mg | 4.1 mg | 1.14 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid | 0.7-3.0 mg | 3.0 mg | 13.8 mg |
| Oxalic Acid | 196 mg | ||
| Tartaric Acid | 8-23.8 mg | ||
| Oxalic Acid | trace only |
Yellow Cattleya Guava
Family: Myrtaceae •Genus: Psidium •
Species: littorale •
Country of Origin: •
Common Names: Yellow Cattleya Guava •
This is a small tree that can reach 6.5 to 14 ft. The one at the garden is the size of a small shrub. It has much more attractive in foliage and fruit than the common Guava (Psidium guajava). This one is covered in beautiful white flowers and lots of fruits, but none for the tasting table yet! This is the yellow skinned variety. I haven't tasted this yet so I can't give you my assessment, maybe next weekend. I'll do an update when I do.
*no reliable food value available
Coffee
Family: Rubiaceae •Genus: Coffea •
Species: arabica •
Country of Origin: subtropical Africa and southern Asia •
Common Names: Coffee •
I'm not very knowledgeable about this plant. I do know that these particular plants came from Hawaii, as I was around when they were purchased. This is a shrub or small tree that can reach 10 to 12 ft. I thought it would be cool to share this picture, because I'm sure most people have never seen the fruit. The skin and pulp is removed through various processes. The seeds (they're not really beans) are roasted and then you have coffee "beans". The fruits were very sweet but all seed. The two species used for most coffee we drink, unless you frequent Starbucks, are Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora.
*no reliable food value available
Coconut
Family: Arecaceae •Genus: Cocos •
Species: nucifera •
Country of Origin: N/A •
Common Names: Coconut 'Dwarf Red Spicata' •
This is one of the things Murray recommended I take pictures of and he explained to me why. Normally, coconuts are borne on a branched inflorescence. [4] As you can clearly see in the photo, these fruit are borne on a single inflorescence, which is truly unusual. It would make a nice edition to my collection.
*no reliable food value available
That's it for this post, I have alot more to share so stay tuned,
Eric
Rare Fruit & Vegetable Council of Broward County (part 1) by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotypic
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflorescence
