Common Name: Santol
Botanical Name: Santorum koetjape
Family: Meliaceae
Origin: Cambodia
Avg. Height x Width: 40' x 30'
Season: Late summer
Damage Temp: 30F
Common Name: Sapodilla
Botanical Name: Manilkara zapota
Family: Sapotaceae
Origin: Tropical America
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 20'
Season: December to October
Damage Temp: 28F
Sapodilla have an exquisite flavor that tastes like a pear that has been soaked in brown sugar. Recent selections of improved varieties have a very fine texture and incredibly large fruit size. The fruit are most often eaten fresh, but they are great in milk shakes and cooked dishes as well. The fruit size and tree size can vary according to variety, but all varieties begin to bear at one to two years of age. Click the link for the sapodilla viewer for cultivar specific information.
Click Here to visit PIN's Sapodilla Cultivar viewer
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Soursop
Botanical Name: Annona muricata
Family: Annonaceae
Origin: Tropical America
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 10'
Season: Year round
Damage Temp: 40F
Soursop has a sweet and tart custard-like pulp. The fruit are typically heart shaped, and weigh up to ten pounds. They make superb milkshakes, but can be eaten fresh as well. The trees are fast growing, and they usually begin fruiting in just two years.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Spanish Lime
Botanical Name: Melicoccus bijugatus
Family: Sapindaceae
Origin: Northern South America
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 20'
Varieties: Queen, Montgomery
Season: July to September
Damage Temp: 28F
The Spanish Lime is a very close relative of the Lychee and Longan. The male and female flowers, however, are born on separate trees, which makes them different from the Lychee and Longan. For that reason a female tree must be in relatively close proximity to a male tree to produce fruit. In addition, only the female trees produce fruit. It is a very well known and highly regarded fruit throughout Latin America. The pulp is tart and melting, and it clings tenaciously to the seeds.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Strawberry Tree
Botanical Name: Muntingia calabura
Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Origin: Mexico, Central and South America
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 20'
Season: Year round
Damage Temp: 28 - 30 F
The fruit of the Strawberry Tree are born on the outstretched branches of the tree. Each fruit is about the size of a blueberry and contains an abundance of tiny yellowish seeds too small to be noticed when eating. The flavor is often compared to cotton candy. The trees are highly ornamental and fast growing, providing a good source of shade and a fruit that is a favorite among children.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Sugar Apple
Botanical Name: Annona squamosa
Family: Annonaceae
Origin: Tropical America
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 10'
Varieties: Thai-Lessard, Kampong Mauve
Season: August - November
Damage Temp: 28F
The sugar apple is an exquisite fruit that is very closely related to the cherimoya. The fruit are typically baseball- to softball-size, and they taste like sugary sweet custard. The pulp comes apart in segments, each containing a small black seed that separates easily from the fruit. The trees begin to fruit at just one to two years of age, and they can easily be maintained at eight to ten feet.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Sweet Calabash
Botanical Name: Passiflora maliformis
Family: Passifloraceae
Origin: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean Islands
Avg. Height x Width: Fast growing vine to 30'
Season: Throughout the year
Damage Temp: 30F
Sweet Calabash is a passion fruit relative that produces beautiful flowers and an unique hard -shelled fruit that can be eaten fresh, with sugar, or used for juice. The fast growing vine is capable of climbing to 30 ft or more in a single year, and it flowers profusely even at a small size. They are extremely prolific producers, and one of the most ornamental of all passion vines. When the fruit is mature it will drop, and then it can be harvested with ease. The thin rind is yellow to brownish when fully ripe, and varies from flexible and leathery to hard and brittle. The pulp is pale orange to yellow, its taste is juicy and sweet to sub-acid, and is highly aromatic. They ripen year round
Common Name: Tamarind
Botanical Name: Tamarindus indica
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Tropical Africa and South Asia
Avg. Height x Width: 25' x 25'
Varieties: Tart and Sweet
Season: Late spring
Damage Temp: 28F
The tamarind is a graceful stately tree commonly found in the South Florida landscape and growing wild along Central American roadsides. The fruit hangs in clusters, peapod-like legumes typically six to eight inches long. The fruit is eaten fresh, in candies, and in sauces. In fact, it is one of the primary ingredients of Worcestershire Sauce, as well as numerous other jerk and barbeque sauces.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: Tea
Botanical Name: Camellia sinensis
Family: Theaceae
Origin: China
Avg. Height x Width: 6' x 4'
Varieties: Large Leaf, Small Leaf and Red Leaf
Damage Temp: 20F
In 2014, Americans consumed over 80 billion servings of tea*!
The drink is fantastic source of antioxidantes which have been known to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and support cardiovascular health.
All types of tea come from the same plants. Different rolling and drying techniques can be usesd with the same plant to produce both green and black tea. The plants are slow-growing and are best kept to a height of 4 ft., by pruning. Plant in well-draning soil in the sun or partial shade, or keep them in a container.
How to Make Tea - CLICK HERE (PDF)
Image: Ian Maguire
*Per the Tea Association of the USA, Inc.
Common Name: Wax Jambu
Botanical Name: Syzygium javanicum
Family: Myrtaceae
Origin: South India to Eastern Malaysia
Avg. Height x Width: 30' x 30'
Varieties: Red, Pink, White and Green
Season: Summer
Damage Temp: 28F
The wax jambu is an excellent fruit known for its crisp texture, mild flavor and cooling effect on the body. The flavor is reminiscent of an apple, with a hint of rosewater. They are often used as a garnish in fruit salads, and eaten out of hand. The trees fruit prolifically in just one to two years, and the fruit is an excellent treat on hot summer days. Trees can easily be maintained at ten to twelve feet, with biannual pruning.
Image: © Ian Maguire
Common Name: White Sapote
Botanical Name: Casimiroa edulis
Family: Rutaceae
Origin: Central America
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 15'
Varieties: Homestead, Redland, Smathers, and Younghans
Season: May - July
Damage Temp: 24F
The white sapote is a superb but delicate fruit that tastes like a creamy sugar cube. The fruit is typically baseball- to softball-size, and the trees begin fruiting in just one to two years. They are best eaten fresh and chilled, but are excellent in ice cream and milkshakes as well. In Mexico, they have a reputation for having a soporific effect, and have come to be known as the "sleepy sapote."
Image: © Ian Maguire
COMMENTS
Santol is a common fruit in the markets throughout Indonesia and the Philippines. The fruit is about the size of a baseball and has a thin rind. The pulp is sweet to sub-acid and surrounds several large seeds. The fruit are typically eaten fresh, but they are also used to make jellies and preserves throughout India and Malaysia.
Image: Maurice Kong