Rare & Unusual Fruit Trees - RFVC of Broward - Fall Sale

[Palmarum]

Rare Fruit & Vegetable Council of Broward County - Fall Sale

Saturday and Sunday, October 23th & 24th, 2021

 

It is the fall season and plant-related activities in Broward are slowly coming back. I almost said coming back to 'normal' but that is still a ways off. Societies, plant groups and other associated organizations are working on creating safe and comfortable in-person events. A few have been fun, others have a ways to go in building both attendance and the 'energy' of pre-pandemic levels, which may not happen for some time, or at all. Some groups have spent the last year and a half barely hanging in there, sticking to online meetings and communication. That urge for hands-on plant world contact is strong.

The RFVC of Broward has been keeping things going with online meetings and their sales. They also had a spring sale, but the weather was not the best when I was there. Bad luck as it were, as it is their more highly-attended event (and sale) of the year. The fall sale had arrived and I had to see what was new and interesting in the world of tropical fruit, spice, nut, herb and vegetable. The sale list included about 193 different species, varieties and cultivars.

 

Sunday, Oct. 24th

- 10:23AM - Walking through the gate on Sunday morning. I was unable to attend on Saturday and my time was limited on Sunday morning, so I had to hurry a bit. The usual crowd of volunteers greeted customers as they entered the sales area. The volunteers at the green umbrella were society veterans and knew exactly the layout of the sales area. They were the first to guide you to the plant you sought, or would pass you onto another set of guides who would take you further in. I noticed how much work had been done to spread out the cashier lines, holding area, etc. Tents were pushed back, tables spread apart and so on. (B) Moving across the forward area, a look towards the sales area shadehouse...

- The original one that stood for decades was taken out (finished off) by Hurricane Irma, so this new metal structure took its place. The morning's activity was brisk but not too crowded, as it was the second day after all. I spoke with one volunteer who said Saturday was quite busy in the morning, but tapered off as the rains moved in during the afternoon. The characteristic white slat signs denoted which plants, cultivars could be found down which aisle. (B) A customer carts his early grab of a Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica, to the forward area, where a volunteer promptly flags it for him.

- 10:26AM - I spent a few more minutes watching the action up front before diving into the selection. I headed down the right, between the sales area shadehouse and one of the older grow houses near the center of the property. This area has had some serious planting, trimming work done. The grow houses had become extensions of the sales area, with one sign out in front denoting what plants were inside; mostly Banana and Avocado cultivars. (B) A look towards one such stocked grow house...

- Walking inside, the effect of the rain the day before was evident. The older grow houses go back... a while, but they are still holding strong. A display of about seven Banana cultivars held the first block. (B) Various other plants were placed in rows and blocks, some where even on trays held on benches. One surprise wasn't a fruit tree. A batch of 7 gal. White Champaca, Magnolia × alba, flowering trees were available, and they had been picked through. (C) The leaves were huge as the plants were the perfect size to go into the ground.

By the way, the genus Michelia has been lumped in with Magnolia, in case you were wondering.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:29AM - Keeping the speed going, I exited the grow house and headed over next door to the sales area shadehouse. I began to notice empty blocks of where plants used to be. (B) The backside entrance to the shadehouse, showing the first sign. Many of the 'one-of's' and unusual fruits were in these two aisles.

- Certain plant groups, like the Mangoes, had too numerous of cultivars to list on the sign (over 60+). Some of the more notable ones were listed, but most were arranged in the block in alphabetical order... if they were still available. (B) Looking down one crowded aisle, Mangoes on the left and a mix on the right; starting with Guava cultivars.

- Noni! Sounds fun to say it like that. A large specimen of Noni or Indian Mulberry, Morinda citrifolia, was working on a batch of fruit. A few specimens in the selection allow one to conveniently get fruit on the tree when purchased. Care had to be taken with some of the larger specimens as they were partially rooted into the ground. The tree was quite attractive even without fruit, as they leaves were thick, large and glossy.

- A scene within the shadehouse, looking towards the rear. More empty plots were found, some with unused signs and extricated drip-irrigation heads. (B) A new cultivar for me. Large 3 gallon plants of Banana Crunch Jakfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus cv. 'Banana Crunch'. I don't know the cultivar but it sounds delicious.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:37AM - The first aisle as you enter contains the Palm world contributions to the selection, mostly Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palms. There are a few other Palms in the mix, some with edible parts or uses, and others not really considered to be edible in some way. These are descendants of mature parents on the property. (B) Same aisle, looking back towards the entrance.

- Forget the dog, beware of the tree... A mature Ackee, Blighia sapida, had a warning sign, in the event the tree was bearing fruit. Propagation via air-layering was ongoing, but I do not know why as the species is not that rare or hard to produce, unless it is perhaps, an unique cultivar? On the flip side, there were no plants mentioned on the sale list so maybe something is going on with the species.

- Good ol' Aiphanes horrida. This tree has been on the property for a long time and I always seem to visit it. I think it was originally planted among the fruit tree collection due to its old nomenclature. Back when it was known as Aiphanes caryotifolia, it had the common name Berry Palm. The name is more for how the fruit look than taste. I know the birds like them, but I don't. (B) Another Palm, I know. Salacca zalacca, Salak or Snake Fruit...

- ... a fruit tree and a palm. There is only one specimen that I know of, and I don't know the gender but it too, has been here a while. It is right up against the fence. Volunteers do not like to trim and weed around it, for obvious reasons. Just look at those spines. There is an emerging red leaf, but it is tough to see.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:42AM - Down one aisle, up another and in one small spot I found one of my sought after plants, Otaheite Gooseberry, Star Gooseberry, Phyllanthus acidus. I was once given a jelly made from the fruit and it was amazing. The Brazilian native can be a little difficult to grow, as certain caterpillars will devour the entire plant, like all of it, in one night.

- Out front, sales activity continued. One side of the tape was considered the holding area which was plentiful, a lot of space to move about and group your plants together. When you were ready to check out, a volunteer would come and collect your tag-ends and take them to the cashier.

- The Society has its usual array of educational materials spread out via the different tents. Various demonstrations were on going. A selection of heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables were on display on the tables in the far back, right of center.

- I was listening to a volunteer describe this new cultivar of Sapodilla called Hasya, (Manilkara zapota cv. 'Hasya') to a customer. It is quickly becoming a favorite among backyard and commercial growers. It performs very well, more so when more than one tree is planted together. (B) Looking up from the smaller Sapodilla, it had appeared that all the larger specimens were gone by this point in the sale.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:49AM - Mangoes and more Mangoes, numerous cultivars. There were plenty of favorites, old standby's, dessert mangoes, juice cultivars, some with fiber, many without and so on. There were some new names in there for sure... including...

- One such name that just took me by surprise. Seems UF's TREC had crossed the two popular Mango cultivars Kent and Edward and named the hybrid 'Tebow'. There might be more to the story than just Gator fandom. It seems we might all get a cultivar named after us at some point. (B) One loaded cart heads out to the parking lot. The Society had it's own carts but it seems many customers brought theirs.

- Sugarcane juice anyone? The press or juicer has been part of the Society since, forever. There always seems to be at least one volunteer operating the machine non-stop during the sales.

- In goes the sugarcane... (B) out comes the juice. It is super good when fresh and chilled.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:53AM - Even though it is generally a tropical fruit tree event, almost any type of plant may show up for sale. A nursery trailer usually resides by the soil pad and holds a number of oddities or related plants, i.e. Sesbania grandiflora, a neat looking small tree. It turns out to be a medicinal plant with edible, showy flowers. (B) For those who must have a Raspberry that can grow anywhere... the Mysore Raspberry, Rubus niveus (albescens). The taste of the fruit varies greatly.

- Think warm thoughts when getting a Breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis. Those leaves stand out from across the sales area. It is one of those fruit trees that stands apart, more as a challenge and as an achievement than as a tree making wanted fruit.

- A new and rare fruit for the sale and for me as well. Pitangatuba, Star Cherry, Eugenia selloi (E. neonitida) a fruit that used to be in name only as it was hard to come by for some time. A highly flavorful berry that varies in color and has a multi-sided star shape. It is in a couple of my fruit tree books as 'finicky' and cold sensitive.

- It is an Eugenia after all so it should at least make a nice hedge. The sign mentions "Keeping it above 50ºF (10ºC)". It's a small shrub, maxing out at around 6 ft. (2m) in height, so one could keep it in a pot and protected.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:07AM - It was just about time to head out, but before doing so I took a quick look at the back part of the property. Customers were not allowed to leave the sales area so I just meandered around in one spot... seeing what I could notice down one pathway. There is an incredible amount of society history on the property, going back decades.

- I turned to the left and noticed one tree that was in flower. Curiosity got the better of me and I went in for a closer look...

- According to the handy aluminum name tag, the tree is Pouteria hypoglauca a.k.a. Cinnamon Apple. New to me in all respects, except for the genus, which I know places it as a relative of the popular Canistel or Egg Fruit, Pouteria campechiana, and a couple other known species. This species appears to have been lumped in with P. glomerata. This is seemingly a neat tree that has a interesting fruit I could try one day. Notice the tiny flowers emerging right off from the branches.

I could have looked around more if I had the time (and permission). I have to check for when they do a tour or workshop event...

 

Ryan

-- --<

[chinandega81]

On 11/7/2021 at 2:35 AM, Palmarum said:

- 10:53AM - Even though it is generally a tropical fruit tree event, almost any type of plant may show up for sale. A nursery trailer usually resides by the soil pad and holds a number of oddities or related plants, i.e. Sesbania grandiflora, a neat looking small tree. It turns out to be a medicinal plant with edible, showy flowers. (B) For those who must have a Raspberry that can grow anywhere... the Mysore Raspberry, Rubus niveus (albescens). The taste of the fruit varies greatly.

- Think warm thoughts when getting a Breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis. Those leaves stand out from across the sales area. It is one of those fruit trees that stands apart, more as a challenge and as an achievement than as a tree making wanted fruit.

- A new and rare fruit for the sale and for me as well. Pitangatuba, Star Cherry, Eugenia selloi (E. neonitida) a fruit that used to be in name only as it was hard to come by for some time. A highly flavorful berry that varies in color and has a multi-sided star shape. It is in a couple of my fruit tree books as 'finicky' and cold sensitive.

- It is an Eugenia after all so it should at least make a nice hedge. The sign mentions "Keeping it above 50ºF (10ºC)". It's a small shrub, maxing out at around 6 ft. (2m) in height, so one could keep it in a pot and protected.

Ryan

Any Breadfruit still available for purchase?

[Palmarum]

2 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

Any Breadfruit still available for purchase?

They had a few remaining by the time I left the sale on Sunday, but I don't know how you could get them. You would have to wait for another event by the society or their spring sale. The property is not regularly open to the public. If I find out anything I will post it here.

Here is their website: http://www.rfvcbroward.org/

Ryan

[teddytn]

@Palmarum one of the coolest threads I’ve seen I a while. It makes me happy that events like that take place and so many people are involved with it, volunteers, sellers, and customers. Don’t get me wrong I love palms, but growing fruit is high on my plant interest list as well.

[Palmarum]

Just now, teddytn said:

@Palmarum one of the coolest threads I’ve seen I a while. It makes me happy that events like that take place and so many people are involved with it, volunteers, sellers, and customers. Don’t get me wrong I love palms, but growing fruit is high on my plant interest list as well.

Events like this are the very core of the plant world in South Florida. They are always fun, even just to browse and talk plants. During the sale, I got drawn into conversations about exotic fruit I have grown and others I have tried. They're not as many local society sales as there once were so it is important to support the ones that still exist.

I got started with Tropical Fruit trees a little while after I began with Palms. Not quite parallel but close. A couple of the original Palm veterans I met and knew as a kid were also into Tropical Fruit (among other plant groups) so it was easy to pick up info and cross back and forth. Back in the '90s, I was most fortunate to have a coworker who was an absolute master of the field. She had decades of tropical fruit experience by that point; spanning numerous plant families, many countries of lived-in experience and blessed with tons of education, passion and resources. Absorbed as much as I could and it continued off from there.

Ryan

[joe_OC]

Ryan - I have fallen deep into tropical fruit trees.  Plinias / Eugenias / Mangoes have my undivided attention now.  Such a different world from palms.