PLANT CATALOG

Santol

SANTOL

Common Name: Santol

Botanical Name: Santorum koetjape

Family: Meliaceae

Origin: Cambodia

Avg. Height x Width: 40' x 30'

Season: Late summer

Damage Temp: 30F

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

Sapodilla

SAPODILLA

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

COMMENTS

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

Soursop

SOURSOP

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

COMMENTS

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

Spanish Lime

SPANISH LIME

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

COMMENTS

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

Strawberry Tree

STRAWBERRY TREE

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

COMMENTS

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

Sugar Apple

SUGAR APPLE

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

COMMENTS

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

Sweet Calabash

SWEET CALABASH

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

COMMENTS

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

Tamarind

TAMARIND

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

COMMENTS

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

Tea

TEA

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

COMMENTS

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.

Wax Jambu

WAX JAMBU

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

COMMENTS

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

White Sapote

WHITE SAPOTE

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

COMMENTS

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