Perennial Edible Fruits C2P12

Actinidiaceae

Actinidia chinensis Planch.
Common names: Chinese gooseberry, kiwi (English); yang-t'ao (Chinese); oni-matatabi (Japanese).

Origin: China.

Distribution: Subtropical areas; warm Temperate Zone.

Cultural requirements: Requires prolonged cool weather during dormancy for successful develop-ment. Long days promote flowering. Tolerant of frost when dormant.

Description: Deciduous vine, grown on trellises. Propagation by seed, cuttings, grafting. Fruit pro-duction in 2-3 years from seed, 1 year from vege-tative propagation. Flowers October-November in Southern Hemisphere, May-June in Northern. Dioecious. Fruit matures in 180-200 days. Fruit ellipsoid, 10-15 cm long, 50-100 g, solitary or in clusters of 2-3; external color brown, internal green.

Utilization: Internationally known, of growing eco-nomic importance. Pulp of fruit eaten fresh, cooked in preserves, pies. Flavor sweet, pleasant; wide appeal. Good source of vitamins A and C. Commercial production in China, New Zealand, South Africa, U.S.A. (California). Good potential for expansion in cool areas. Varieties: 'Abbott', 'Allison', 'Bruno', ‘Greensill','Hayward', ‘Matua', 'Monty', 'Tomuri'.

References: Bailey 1961, Habart 1974, Nihoul 1976.

Anacardiaceae

Anacardium occidentale L.
Common names: cashew (English); marañon, merey, cajuil (Spanish); cajú (Portuguese); acajou (French).

Origin: South America.

Distribution: Pantropic.

Cultural requirements: Grows best in hot tropical climate below 1,000 m elevation. Soil pH 4.5-6.5. Tolerant of poor soils and seasonally dry conditions.

Description: Tree to 12 m. Propagation by seed, grafting, layering, cuttings. Fruit production in 4-5 years from seed, 2-3 years from vegetative propa-gation. Flowers February-March. Fruit matures in 60-90 days. Consists of one seed (cashew nut, 2.5-3 cm long) hanging below the enlarged pedun-cle (cashew apple). Solitary or in small clusters. Apple has red or yellow external color, pale-yellow internal color.

Utilization: Nut highly commercialized and of high quality. Nut roasted to remove noxious oil; excel-lent flavor, universal appeal. Apple eaten fresh, as juice, preserve; flavor sweet, somewhat astringent, with moderate appeal. Nut rich in protein and oil, apple in vitamin C. Nut important in international commerce, apple in local areas. Good potential for expansion.

References: Araque 1968, Morton 1967.

Anacardium giganteum Hanc. ex Engler
Common names: anacardier géant, cajou (French); cajueiroacu-da-mata (Portuguese).

Origin: Brazil, Guiana.

Distribution: Brazil, Guiana.

Cultural requirements: Hot, humid tropical lowlands.

Description: Tree to 40 m. Propagation by seed. Flowers in December (Brazil). Fruit 2.5 cm long, edible peduncle 2 cm long, in small clusters; peduncle external color red, internal color pink.

Utilization: Nut edible but small. Peduncle eaten fresh, as juice; flavor sweet or acid, astringent, refreshing; moderate appeal. Nut rich in protein and oil, peduncle in vitamin C. Potential unex-plored, but probably fair.

References: Cavalcante 1976, Fouqué 1974.

Bouea gandaria Blume (= B. macrophylla Griff.)
Common names: maprang (English); kundangan, setar (Malaya); maprang (Thailand); gandaria (Java)
.
Origin: Southeast Asia.

Distribution: Southeast Asia.

Cultural requirements: Hot tropical lowlands with monsoon climate. Not well adapted to calcareous soils.

Description: Tree to 20 m. Propagation by seed, grafting. Fruit production from grafts in 2-3 years. Flowers January-March. Fruit matures in 180 or more days. Fruit 4-7 cm long, in small clusters; external color yellow, internal yellow to orange.

Utilization: Pulp eaten fresh or cooked in jams, chut-ney. Flavor of good selections sweet, pleasant; moderate appeal. Good source of vitamins A and C. Fair potential in areas where known, but not likely to be widely commercialized.

Reference: Molesworth Allen 1967.

Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics

2. Major Fruits

Actinidiaceae

Anacardiaceae