วันพุธ, ธันวาคม 3, 2008

Tropical Evergreen Thai Mangosteen

Tropical Evergreen Thai Mangosteen

This discourse is all about Thai mangosteen fruit and if you want to be acquainted with more about this topic, go on and read this analysis. If you are a practical kind of individual who has been enjoying Thai mangosteen fruit, it is certain that you would enjoy reading this piece of writing which tries to provide you useful tips on this exotic fruit.

Thai Mangosteen: The Solution to Wellbeing?

The mangosteen itself was first revealed in Burma and Siam, which is known as Thailand today. The Thai mangosteen is a tropical evergreen tree and can grow fairly tall. In Asia, where it has been known for centuries, it has over and over again been dubbed the "Queen of Fruits" owing to its healing properties.

The Life Phase of a Thai Mangosteen

For a Thai mangosteen tree to grow, it should have very humid, warm climate. As a consequence, you will only find the Thai mangosteen tree growing in close proximity to the equator. Even if some of the growing environments are the same in California and Florida, growing a Thai mangosteen tree in these places has not been successful apparently because of the minor differences in climate. There truly hasn't been much achievement in growing the Thai mangosteen trees in greenhouses either.

The fruit of the Thai mangosteen tree itself looks like a tiny, round eggplant with a curvilinear, attractive looking cap at the summit of the fruit itself. Different from many other kinds of fruit, it is by and large the outer shell or rind of the fruit that is utilized. The inner white sectioned fruit is rather edible, but nearly all of the healing properties related to the fruit are converged in the rind.

Although the Thai mangosteen fruit itself looks like it has a somewhat hard shell, it can be rather simple to open. Care must be taken when opening them, nevertheless, because the rind generates a very purple juice that blemishes fabric and even skin badly and can be impossible to get rid of. Frequently, hotels in Southeast Asia forbid their occupants from having the fruit to consume in their rooms for fear of damage to the room.

Since the Thai mangosteen is so hard to cultivate outside of Southeast Asia, mangosteen juice is more often than not rather pricey and can habitually be difficult to stumble on. The Internet is almost certainly the best location to look for Thai mangosteen juice. You will find numerous independent distributors advertising the juice, which they deliver directly to your house.

Thai mangosteen juice has already been demonstrated to be very beneficial to a person's health. Whether it is the super fruit that a lot of believers are claiming this might still need to be proven. Preliminary tests have exposed it can help with particular conditions, but as far as long term conditions is concerned, they still need to be studied further. It undoubtedly can't hurt to try it, and might even have long term health benefits.

That ends the conversation on Thai mangosteen fruit, and now it is for you to make your mind up if we have been successful in our attempt to give you some valuable content on this wonder fruit.

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เขียนโดย everlastinglovesong เมื่อ 12:29 ก่อนเที่ยง 0 ความคิดเห็น ลิงก์ไปยังบทความนี้

Where Does Mangosteen Grow?



LocationThe mangosteen tree is found predominantly in Southeast Asia in countries like China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Philippines. There has been attempts to grow them in the US but it has not been successful. In Hawaii, the tree has not acclimatized and is rare in those islands. Neither has it been successful in California. The soil and climate in Florida is very unfavorable. Some plants have been grown for a time in containers in greenhouses. One tree, protected and grown in special soil lived to produce a single fruit before succumbing to winter cold.

ClimateThe mangosteen is ultra-tropical and cannot tolerate temperatures below 40º F (4.44º C), nor above 100º F (37.78º C). Seedlings are killed at 45º F (7.22º C).

It is limited in Malaya to elevations below 1,500 ft (450 m); In Madras it grows from 250 to 5,000 ft (76-1,500 m) above sea-level; and attempts to establish it north of 200 latitude have failed.

Mangosteen ordinarily requires high atmospheric humidity and an annual rainfall of 50 inches (127 cm) and no long periods of drought. In Dominica, mangosteens growing in an area having 80 inches (200 cm) of rain yearly required special care, but another locality with 105 inches (255 cm) and better moisture- holding soil capacity, flourished.

SoilMangosteen is not adapted to limestone and requires deep, rich organic soil, especially sandy loam or laterite. In India, the most productive specimens are on clay containing coarse material and a little silt. Sandy alluvial soils are not suitable for the mangosteen tree and sand low in humus contributes to the tree's low yields. Mangosteen needs good drainage and the water table ought to be about 6 ft (1.8 m) below ground level. The mangosteen must be sheltered from strong winds and salt spray.

PropagationTechnically, the so-called "seeds" are not true seeds but adventitious embryos, or hypocotyl tubercles, inasmuch as there has been no sexual fertilization. Some of the seeds are polyembryonic, producing more than one shoot. The individual nucellar embryos can be separated, if desired, before planting.

Inasmuch as the percentage of germination is directly related to the weight of the seed, only plump, fully developed seeds should be chosen for planting. Even these will lose viability in 5 days after removal from the fruit, though they are viable for 3 to 5 weeks in the fruit. Soaking in water for 24 hours expedites and enhances the rate of germination. Generally, sprouting occurs in 20 to 22 days and is complete in 43 days.

The young plants take 2 years or more to reach a height of 12 in (30 cm). Fruiting may take place in 7 to 9 years from planting but usually not for 10 or even 20 years.

Conventional vegetative propagation of the mangosteen is difficult.


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เขียนโดย everlastinglovesong เมื่อ 12:25 ก่อนเที่ยง 0 ความคิดเห็น ลิงก์ไปยังบทความนี้

Rose Apples - Chompoo


Rose Apples - Chompoo

Red and green rose apples on sale in the market.

The rose apple is yet another fruit with a surprise up its sleeve. Based on its outward appearance, it could easily be mistaken for a small pear, although the skin is usually quite waxy compared to pears. But when you cut the rose apple open, you won't find a core filled with seeds. The core of a rose apple is more or less hollow, with a bit of cottony fluff that should be scraped out and discarded.

Rose apples are eaten skin and all. The texture is somewhere between a watermelon and an apple, as is the taste. Rose apples can have a slightly bitter after-taste, but this is rarely unpleasant. There are several varieties of rose apples, with the most common in Thailand having a light green green skin. This variety is available almost year round, while seasonal varieties vary in color from apple red to almost black. The red variety is native to Malaysia, where its common English name is "Malay apple." In Southern Thailand, you will also see a small cherry red variety that looks a bit like a child's top.


The rose apple is Bell - shaped, and has a glossy skin that is either green or pink, or red and is eaten along with the crisp, very juicy, slightly acid fresh. Its decorative appearance guarantees it a prominent place on any fruit platter during the peak season between June and September.

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เขียนโดย everlastinglovesong เมื่อ 12:18 ก่อนเที่ยง 0 ความคิดเห็น ลิงก์ไปยังบทความนี้

Rose Apple Fruit Facts


ROSE APPLE

Syzygium jambos Alston

MyrtaceaeCommon Names: Rose apple, Plum rose, Malabar plum.

Related Species: Water Apple (Syzygium aqueum), Blue Lilly Pilly (S. coolminianum), Water berry (S. cordatum), Jambolan, Java Plum (S. cumini), Water Pear (S. guineense), Malay Apple (S. malaccense), Java Apple (S. samarangense).

Distant affinity: Eugenias (Eugenia spp.), Guavas (Psidium spp.), Jaboticaba (Myrciaria spp.).

Origin: The rose apple is native to the East Indies and Malaya and is cultivated and naturalized in many parts of India, southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It was introduced into Jamaica in 1762 and became well distributed in the West Indies, and at low elevations, from southern Mexico to Peru. The tree was planted in Florida before 1877, and later in California.

Adaptation: Rose apples flourish in tropical or near-tropical climates, but the tree is proving to be hardy enough (to about 25° F) to be grown as an ornamental as far north in California as San Francisco. A beautiful specimen is thriving in the rather cold, windy rare fruit section of Quail Gardens in Encinitas. The rose apple is too large to make a suitable container plant
DESCRIPTION
Growth Habit: The rose apple is a highly decorative evergreen large shrub or small tree growing to about 20 feet with low spreading branches and pale-brown bark. It is wide spreading and often will be wider than its height.

Foliage: The lanceolate leaves are 4 to 9 inches in length by 2 inches wide, shiny and pink when they first emerge, fading to pale green. When mature they are slightly leathery and dark green. They are narrow and elliptic in shape and gradually taper to a point. The foliage is produced in a dense, luxuriant mass that hides all branches from view.

Flowers: Rose apple flowers are large and showy, white to pale cream and sweetly scented. They are 2 - 4 inches wide and consist mostly of about 300 conspicuous stamens to 1-1/3 inches long. There are usually 4 or 5 flowers together in terminal clusters. The flowers are a rich source of nectar for honeybees.

Fruit: The fruits are 1 - 2 inches wide, almost round or a little longer than wide. When ripe they may be greenish or dull-yellow flushed with pink. The skin is smooth and thin, and the firm flesh yellowish, sweet and rose scente. The texture is crisp, almost crunchy when the fruit is ripe and freshly picked. They contains one to four medium hard, round seeds, which rattle around inside the fruit. The seed as well as the roots are regarded as poisonous. Seedless, thick-fleshed fruits have been experimentally produced by treating opened flowers with growth regulators such as naphthoxy acetic acid.

CULTURE
Location: The rose apple needs a warm, sunny location that is not subject to significant frosts. It should also be kept in mind that the tree will occupy considerable space. The tree is moderately resistant to winds and tolerates cool, coastal conditions.

Soils: A deep, loamy, well-drained soil is best for the rose apple, but it also flourishes on sand and limestone with very little organic matter. In India it grows along streams. It is a favorite dooryard tree in the Peruvian part of the Amazon, where the trees are planted high enough to avoid the frequent floods.

Irrigation: The tree will tolerate semi-arid conditions, but prolonged dry spell are detrimental. It should have frequent irrigation when the weather is warm, and kept on the dry side when it's cold.

Fertilization: The rose apple's needs are unknown. If planted in a deep loamy soil it will thrive with very little other requirements. In less fertile soils a light semi-annual feeding of a balanced fertilizer, such as 6-6-6 NPK may be in order.

Pruning: Pruning of rose apples is not usually necessary. In some countries it is pruned drastically to promote dense growth and used as hedgerows around coffee plantations.

Frost Protection: The rose apple will take several degrees of frost but does best when planted in a protected spot on the south side of a wall or building. Young plants can be given overhead protection and covered when significant frosts are expected.

Propagation: Most rose apple trees are grown from seed. The seeds are polyembryonic and produce one to three sprouts, but seedlings are not uniform and there is considerable variation in fruit quality. The poorer fruits are dry and tasteless. Various vegetative propagation methods have been satisfactory. Treated semi-hardwood cuttings were moderately successful, while air-layering and veneer grafting of spring-flush scions have been successful to a greater degree. Fruiting takes about four years.

Pests and diseases: The rose apple has very few serious diseases and insect problems, although in humid climates the leaves are subject to a sooty mold from aphid excretions. Root rot caused by Fusarium spp., and mushroom root rot (Armillariella tabescens) can attack the tree.

Harvest: Rose apples bruise quite easily and are highly perishable. They must be freshly picked to be crisp. The fruit is only moderately interesting eaten out-of-hand, and is more often used in jellies and jams or preserved in combination with other fruits of more pronounced flavor. It is also cooked with sugar to make a dessert. When cooked with custards or puddings, they impart a rose flavor. The flowers can also be candied.

CULTIVARS
Insufficient tests have been made with strains from the West Indies, Mexico, and Guiana to tell if there are any significant differences. There are no known varieties.

FURTHER READING

Morton, Julia F. Fruits of Warm Climates. Creative Resources Systems, Inc. 1987. pp. 383-836.
Popenoe, Wilson. Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits. Hafner Press. 1974. Facsimile of the 1920 edition. pp. 305-306

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เขียนโดย everlastinglovesong เมื่อ 12:07 ก่อนเที่ยง 0 ความคิดเห็น ลิงก์ไปยังบทความนี้