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To: All

I am in trouble, on a gray and rainy day, I wind up looking at fancy food plants, LOL, I would love to have most of these.
granny

http://rainseed.com/fruits.htm

Fruits

(all seed packets are $3.00 each)

Apricot Tomato ~ Solanum Quitoense

An exciting bushy plant with purple-tinged large leaves that are curiously inverted, with the broad end upward. Attractive white flowers are followed by tomato shaped orange/red fruits that taste like a ripe apricot. Makes an excellent indoor plant.

Baby Papaya ~ Carica Papaya

A fast growing small succulent tree about four feet (1.2 m) high at maturity. Unusual leaves are 7-lobed. It produces its ambrosial peach tasting fruit at an early age. The abundant flowers are greenish yellow and heavily scented. An engaging conversation piece.

Bael Fruit (aegle marmelos)

This nutritious fruit is prized more for its medicinal qualities than its taste as it used in different parts of the world to cure dysentery, diarrhea, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and is said to be good for the heart and brain. The leaves and seed oil are also used as pesticide.

Cassabanana (sicana odorifera)

Fast-growing, fleshy vine produces large fruits up to 60 cm long. The mature fruit is sweet with orange-yellow pulp that is eaten raw or made into preserves. Immature fruit can be cooked like a vegetable.

Chiclet Tree (manilkara zapodilla) - Out of Stock

A stately evergreen with velvet-smooth dark green leaves. Abundant white flowers and edible brown-skinned fruits about the size of golf balls. The tree is best known for being a natural source for chewing gum.

Chocolate Vine (akebia quinata)

A hardy vine whose red-purple flowers smell like white chocolate when in bloom. The flowers are followed by purple, edible 4”-5” sausage shaped fruits which contain a white pulp with a tapioca like flavor.

Cocktail Plant ~ Psidium Friedrichstahlianum

A small fruit tree with green to red foliage, depending on the amount of sun. Small white flowers are followed by small fruit that are used in tropical juices. The leaves are sometimes digested in a tea form as an antacid.

Custard Apple (annona reticulata)

Tropical tree to 40’ widely cultivated in lowland tropics. Grown for its large heart shape fruits with juicy sweet pulp. Blooms have the scent of vanilla.

Date Plum (diospyros lotus)

A type of persimmon tree, produces a small fruit with a taste similar to both dates and plums. The fruit is said to be so delicious that it was known to the ancient Greeks and “the fruit of the Gods”.

Flowering Banana ~ Musa Ornata

A very showy ornamental banana that grows up to four feet (1.2 m) in height, with pseudo stems, pale green and waxy, dotted with black blotches. Leaves up to three feet (90 cm) long, glaucous green. Inflorescence erect with pink bracts tipped yellow.

Forest Peach ~ Cochlospermun Vitifolium

An exceptionally spectacular looking tree with leaves resembling that of the grape vine. Flowers are a mass of golden cups. Fruits are similar in appearance to a perfect looking peach and dangle in pretty bunches.

Goldenberry (physalis peruviana)

Small tree with a smooth pinkish trunk and fragrant white flowers. The fruit contain a sweet pinkish-purple flesh that is used in making jellies. Often served with cream cheese, guavas can be eaten raw, canned, used in desserts and salads.

Guava (psidium guajava)

Small tree with a smooth pinkish trunk and fragrant white flowers. The fruit contain a sweet pinkish-purple flesh that is used in making jellies. Often served with cream cheese, guavas can be eaten raw, canned, used in desserts and salads.

Kaffir Plum (harpephyllum caffrum)

Small tree with a smooth pinkish trunk and fragrant white flowers. The fruit contain a sweet pinkish-purple flesh that is used in making jellies. Often served with cream cheese, guavas can be eaten raw, canned, used in desserts and salads.

Kiwi Fruit (actinidia chinensis)

This edible, oval fruit is about the size of an egg and the taste has been described as a combination of pineapple, banana and strawberry. The brownish outer skin appears to be “furry” and is not eaten, however the fruit contains rows of small, black edible seeds.

Miracle Fruit (synsepalum dulcificum) - New Shipment Arrived 7/3/08!

A small tree, 5’ tall, with leathery leaves and clustered flowers. The novel red fruit, 3/4” across, is fleshy and contains one seed. Miraculously, after eating it, it causes everything, even a lime, to taste sweet. A much-applauded houseplant.

Monkey’s Comb ~ Apeiba Aspera

A magnificent plant of awesome ornamental value. Beautiful foliage. The scented flowers are yellow. They are followed by the curious sea-urchin like fruits 2” in diameter, which are black and covered with short, soft spines.

Music Tree ~ Crescenta Alata

A most interesting plant with short trunk and long spreading branches. Very intriguing bright green foliage. The scented blooms are yellow with a touch of purple. The hard-shelled fruits are used to make the Latin American musical instrument Maraca.

Naranjilla (solanum quitoense)

Produces fragrant white and purple flowers that are followed by edible medium sized fruits that turn bright orange when ripe. The juicy pulp is green and tastes like a cross between a pineapple and a strawberry. Can be eaten fresh, used on ice cream, in fruit salad, cooked in pies or made into a juice.

Paw Paw (asimina triloba)

Related to the tropical Cherimoya (Custard Apple), the Paw Paw has huge leaves and although it is quite happy in the shade, it also tolerates full sun. The fruits, weighing up to a pound each, are rich, sweet, and custard-like, with hints of banana and vanilla.

Pepino (solanum muricatum)

An evergreen shrub that produces a sweet, edible fruit that resembles a melon in both color and flavor. The fruits have a smooth round or oval shape and are light yellow in color with purple lines throughout.

Pomegranate, Dwarf (punica granatum)

This dwarf variety can grow up to six feet and produces smaller, delicious red fruits with a thick rind and many seeds. Also a popular species for use as a bonsai.

Pond Apple (annona glabra)

Produces fruits which look similar to a green apple that can be eaten raw and are sometimes made into jellies and wine. The plants mature quickly and start producing after two years.

Purple Banana ~ Musa Velutina

A very showy ornamental plant reaching five feet (1.5 m) in height. Slender trunk with long green leaves and a flaming red flowering head, elegantly tinged with yellow. Small purple fruit fingers are a great conversation piece.

Purple Passion Fruit (passiflora edulis)

Robust climber with winged stems and oval leaves, much grown in the tropics for its edible fruit, which is oblong, about 6” long, yellowish green and pulpy. Very exotic fragrant flowers, 4” across, purple-red. Ideal for trellis.

Sancoya (annona purpurea)

This beautiful tree can reach up to 30’ and produces a very juicy, sweet fruit that contains an orange colored pulp. Can be easily grown in a container but requires a consistently warm climate if planted outside.

Sausage Tree (kigelia pinnata)

Unusual tree that produces huge sausage-like fruits that hang down from the limbs on long ropelike stalks. Grown as a curiosity or ornamental as the fruits are only eaten by animals, the tree also produces large, showy red flowers.

Soapberry (sapindus saponaria)

Shrub-like small tree that produces fruits which can be toxic if eaten, however the seeds are crushed to make soap. Saponin, found in the seeds, is a natural detergent which is used to clean clothes and has become a popular alternative to manufactured, chemical detergents.

Soursop a.k.a. Guanabana (annona muricata)

A well-known fruit commonly found in tropical markets, they are usually processed into ice creams, sherbets and drinks. High in vitamins B1, B2 and C, the delicious fruits usually weigh several pounds.

Star Apple (chrysophyllum cainito)

This rapidly growing tree produces delicious purple fruit with a star pattern in the pulp. The trees are self-fertile and bear fruit year round after they reach maturity at about seven years of age.

Star Fruit ~ averrhoa carambola

A handsome tree whose sensitive leaves close when touched. The small purplish flowers are clustered in unique form. The oval fruit is five lobed, translucent and pleasantly tart. It is star-shaped when sliced crosswise.

Strawberry Tree (arbutus unedo)

A picturesque tree year-round that produces strawberry-like fruits high in vitamin C and sugar content. The fruits are used as jams, jellies, syrups and in wines and liqueurs. The bark has also been used for tanning leather. The plant is often used as in informal hedge or screen.

Sugar Apple (annona squamosa)

An extremely popular fruit that is typically eaten raw, added to ice cream or blended with milk to make a delicious beverage. Throughout tropical American, a decoction made from the leaves is imbibed for use as a cold remedy, or used in baths to alleviate rheumatic pain.

Surinam Cherry (eugenia uniflora)

Primarily grown as a hedge, this shrub produces beautiful bright red fruits slightly bitter edible fruits. Wonderful sprinkled with sugar and served on top of shortcake similar to strawberries, the fruits also make a great addition to fruit cups and salads, or can be made into pies, syrups, jams and jellies.

Tamarind (tamarindus indica)

This tropical fruit tree is known for its tart pulp used in chutney and numerous other dishes. Very attractive tree makes a terrific indoor plant that may easily be kept pruned to a desirable size. Its numerous branches are laden with feathery pinnate leaves.

Three Leaf Chocolate Vine (akebia trifoliata)

A hardy vine whose red-purple flowers smell like white chocolate when in bloom. The flowers are followed by purple, edible 4”-5” sausage shaped fruits which contain a white pulp with a tapioca like flavor.

Tree Tomato a.k.a. Tamarillo (cyphomandra betaceae)

A large shrub that grows ten to twelve feet in height and produces fruits that resemble tomatoes in appearance but have a sweeter taste. The fruits are used in jams, jellies, sauces and soups and can also be eaten raw.

Wild Mandarin ~ Citrus Sp.

A beautiful small tree with pretty, bright green leaves. The flowers are tinged red in the bud, white inside. They are followed by an abundance of tangerine looking, sweet and sour fruit.

Wild Pear (psidium guajava)

Also known as Tropical Guava, this small tree can grow to 34 feet. Produces an abundance of pear shaped fruit, generally two crops per year, within 90 to 150 days after flowering. The fruit can be eaten raw but is preferred seeded and sliced as a dessert or in salads. It is also used for juice, made into syrup or jelly.

Zebra Banana ~ Musa Zebrina

Definitely the most unusual-looking member of the banana family. A slender highly-ornamental plant 6’ high with tall trunk bearing delicate long-stalked leaves, satiny bluish green, richly variegated with blackish blood-red; the midrib brown-red.


7,127 posted on 11/26/2008 7:56:24 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny ( http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=451 SURVIVAL, RECIPES, GARDENS, & INFO)
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To: nw_arizona_granny

There is a group of guys in Phoenix who gather to discuss and help each other grow tropical plants. I suppose they have misting systems or greenhouse arrangements to keep in the moisture. They were discussing papayas, mangos and I think banana plants. Interesting plants, it would be cool to have something different to grow and eat. Our repertory of plants is so small, it’s no wonder we are undernourished and overfed.


7,138 posted on 11/26/2008 9:01:20 AM PST by TenthAmendmentChampion (The best thread on FreeRepublic is here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts)
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