Tropical Fruits and Its Value

Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is a very popular fruit in Southeast Asia. This region is a major producer and consumer of this fruit. Sapodilla preferred mainly because it tastes sweet and soft flesh. This plant is thought to originate from tropical America-such as Guatemala, Mexico, and the West Indies-and in Java, this plant can be found in the lowlands. The Spanish colonizers brought from Mexico to the Philippines, and the possibility of it spreading to Southeast Asia. Sapodilla has now grown in many tropical regions of the world. Brown manila germplasm collections are in Los Banos (Philippines), Queensland (Australia), India, Cuba, Brazil, Costa Rica, Florida and Hawaii (USA) and several other countries. Sapodilla Most sapodilla fruit eaten fresh as a table fruit.  However, sapodilla can also be processed into sherbet, mixed into ice cream, or used as jam. Sapodilla fruit juice can be concentrated into syrup, or fermented into wine or vinegar. The sap can be used as glu...

Mangosteen Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) is a member of the Clusiaceae family and the Garcinia genus. Garcinia is a large genus of about 400 species native to East India, the Malay Peninsula and Southeast Asia including Indonesia. In addition, based on morphological and cytological studies, it is estimated that the mangosteen originates from Southeast Asia. In addition, researchers argue that mangosteen is a fruit producer in Indonesia. In fact, the mangosteen is a tropical fruit that has been used for hundreds of years around the world as a traditional medicine. Mangosteen trees can grow in the lowlands. The best growth is achieved in areas with an altitude of 500-600 m above sea level. In Indonesia, the centers for planting mangosteen trees are West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, Riau, East Kalimantan, North Sumatra and North Sulawesi. Europeans call this fruit the queen of tropical fruit, this title arises from the reasons for the pleasure of this fruit. Sweet, sour and fre...

The tree Velvet Apple also known as Bisbul (Indonesia), Butter Fruit, Persimmon, Mabolo   (The Philippines) and Kamagong is the Fruit native to The Philippines and now can also be found around South East Asia Region with the scientific name Diospyros blancoi. The fruit is typically reddish-brown in color, and while it is edible, with creamy, soft flesh, the smell of velvet apples is considered by many people to be unpleasant, commonly compared to the smell of cat feces or rotten cheese. Characteristics of the tree:  Tree of Diospyros blancoi A. DC naturally habitat is in Primary Tropical Rainforest and Secondary Rainforest from low to medium altitudes.  It is a evergreen tree, 7-15 m tall, with a conical crown, with trunk diameter about 50 to 80 cm wide. Straight trunked, with black or blackish color, branched, more or less horizontally and terraced, with a conical overall crown that is dense and densely packed with leaves so that it is dark on the inside. The Flower...

Marian Plum is an endemic of South East Asia, and has Scientific name Bouea macrophylla Griffith. Even though it is becoming scarce in its source area, Marian Plum is still well known and has the local names Gandaria or Djatake (Indonesia) and serapoh, kondongan, kundang (Malaysia). Marian Plum  is a tree of the humid tropics and thrives in light and fertile soil. It occurs naturally in lowland forests below 300 m altitude, but has been successfully cultivated up to elevations of about 850 m. Tree with clear sap turning black. Stipules absent. Leaves opposite which is rare within the Anacardiaceae, distichous (in one plane along the twig), simple, large, glabrous. Flowers small, placed in small branched inflorescences. Fruits c. 3 cm long, orange-red fleshy drupes. Characteristics of the tree:  The tree is medium, but high. The height can reach 25 m with a diameter of 55 cm. The plant canopy is conical or round in shape with dense leaves so it is very suitable for use as a sha...