Common Name: Macadamia Nut
Botanical Name: Macadamia integrifolia
Family: Proteaceae
Origin: Australia
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 20'
Varieties: Arkin Papershell, Beaumont, Dana White
Season: September to December
Damage Temp: 27F
Common Name: Malay Apple
Botanical Name: Syzygium malaccensis
Family: Myrtaceae
Origin: Malasia
Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 15'
Season: Winter and spring
Damage Temp: 30F
The malay apple is a close relative to the wax jambu and the rose apple. Unlike the wax jambu, the malay apple has a single marble-sized seed that separates easily from the pulp. The fruit are bell-shaped and can be up to eight inches long. The taste can be described as a rose water-flavored apple, and they are pleasant and cooling to eat. The trees fruit prolifically, and larger fruit size can be achieved by thinning the crop and watering heavily. The tree grows fast and large, and they typically have a Christmas tree shape.
Common Name: Mamey
Botanical Name: Pouteria sapota
Family: Sapotaceae
Origin: Central America
Avg. Height x Width: 25' x 25'
Varieties: Pantin (Key West), Magana, Pace, Florida
Season: April-October, according to variety
Damage Temp: 28F
Mamey is the national fruit of Cuba. It has the flavor and texture of sweet potato pudding and it is best served as a milkshake. It can be difficult to tell when the fruit is mature, because they do not have a color break like mangos, and they will still be rock hard. The best way to tell if the fruit is ready to pick is to scratch the surface. If it is green underneath, then it needs more time. If the fruit is pink where scratched, then it is ready to pick. They typically take four to five days to ripen once picked, and at this stage they are soft to the touch.
Image: Ian Maguire
Common Name: Mammee Apple
Botanical Name: Mammea americana
Family: Guttiferaceae
Origin: West Indies
Avg. Height x Width: 30' x 25'
Varieties: Redland
Season: Late spring to summer
Damage Temp: 30F
Mammee apple is typically the size of a softball, and they have the flavor of an apricot. The outer skin is brown, leathery, and similar to that of mamey. The pulp surrounds one to two large seeds, and it must be cut free from both the seed and skin. It has the texture of cantaloupe, and are best eaten fresh out of hand.
Common Name: Mango
Botanical Name: Mangifera indica
Family: Anacardiaceae
Origin: Southeast Asia and India
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15', according to variety
Season: May to January, according to variety
Damage Temp: 25 - 27 F
The appreciation of the mango began over 4,000 years ago in India and throughout Southeast Asia. It was there that the first selections of improved cultivars were cloned from vast orchards and untamed jungles. The ensuing millennia brought great recognition to the delectable fruit, and now it is better known, worldwide, than the peach. The mango varieties that we grow represent the finest selections from around the world, including those selected here in Florida. The mango viewer will provide insight into the different characteristics of each variety, and the rating system will assist you in choosing a tree tailored to individual tastes and preferences.
Click Here to visit PIN's Mango Cultivar viewer
Image: Ian Maguire
Common Name: Miracle Fruit
Botanical Name: Synsepalum dulcificum
Family: Sapotaceae
Origin: Ghana W. Africa
Avg. Height x Width: 6' x 2'
Season: All year
Damage Temp: 28F
Miracle fruit has an unique glyco protein that inhibits taste buds' perception of sour taste for half an hour up to a couple of hours. They can make lemons taste like lemon candy. The fruit can be used to enhance the flavor of grapefruit, strawberries, and lychees. The fruit also acts as an appetite stimulant for chemotherapy patients. The effects of the glyco protein masks the metallic taste that food tends to get after chemo treatment. The plants are best grown in containers, and they can remain in a seven gallon pot indefinitely.
Common Name: Mombin
Botanical Name: Spondias purpurea
Family: Anacardiaceae
Origin: Central America
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15'
Varieties: Red and Yellow
Season: May to July
Damage Temp: 27F
The trees go dormant in the winter and drop all of their leaves. As spring begins to break, the trees begin to flower, and the fruit follows in 45-60 days. The fruit and flower of the hog plum occur right on the branches as opposed to hanging from the tips. They are usually eaten as fresh fruit or pickled green and eaten in East Indian cooking.
Image: ©Ian Maguire UF/TREC
Common Name: Mulberry
Botanical Name: Morus nigra
Family: Moraceae
Origin: Asia
Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15'
Varieties: Everbearing and Pakistani
Season: Spring to summer; Everbearing produces throughout the year
Damage Temp: 22F
Mulberries taste similar to blackberries, and just like blackberries, they will stain your hands and lips. They are excellent eaten right out of hand, but they are often used in preserves, jellies and jams. The leaves of the mulberry are cultivated in many parts of the world as food for silk worms.
Common Name: Noni
Botanical Name: Morinda citrifolia
Family: Rubiaceae
Origin: Southeast Asia
Avg. Height x Width: 12' x 12'
Season: Year round
Damage Temp: 30F
Noni is a medicinal fruit that is professed to combat nearly every ailment of the body, from cancer to allergies. Most notable is the fruit’s detoxifying juice, which lowers blood pressure, regulates menstruation, and wards off infection. There are literally hundreds of scientific studies and testimonials published on various websites that tout the fruit's healing powers. They can be container-grown or planted as a specimen, and the trees begin fruiting at just one year of age.
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Macadamia nuts are among the most expensive, highest quality, and hardest to crack nuts in the world. Commercial production of the nut is concentrated in Hawaii and throughout sub-tropical Australia. The nuts are commonly used in baking, but they are often eaten fresh or roasted as well. They are typically about the size of a quarter, and require a vise or a hammer to open.