Owner: Fruitspecies URL:http://fruitspecies.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:03:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog about tasting all kinds of fruits (with photos and descriptions) around the globe, including exotic and rare fruits Site statistics:Click here
SUGAR APPLE (Green Rind) 2008-02-26 06:20:00 Common Name: Sugar appleVernacular Names: Sweetsop, Anon, Custard apple[misapplied]Scientific Name: Annona squamosaSpecimens From: MalaysiaSpecimens Weight: 165 gm (Average weight per fruit)Sugar apple, believes to be native from the Caribbean region and the northern South America but is now cultivated in most of the tropical countries throughout the world.This fruit is known by its numerous vernacular names, mostly by the languages of the different countries. Some countries loosely apply the name, custard apple to this fruit, which is misleading and technically incorrect. There is another fruit in the same family, which looks similar but not as common, known by the actual name of custard apple (annona reticulata). So don't be confused by the same name as both fruits are different.Sugar ap Read more:Green
FRUIT Thumbnails 2008-02-26 06:18:00 Click on any of the 31 fruit thumbnails to go to that page Read more:Thumbnails
What's Your FIVE Favorite Fruits 2008-02-26 06:16:00 [Originally posted on Oct 24, 2007]What's your top FIVE favorite fruits?It can be any fruits that you had eaten before, regardless of common, exotic or rare. Let's just limit to five fruits. So think of which FIVE fruits that you would call it your all-time favorites?I will compile a list later after you had named your favorites and see which fruit tops it all.All are welcomed to add yours, regardless of whether you are a regular reader or just a passer-by. As long as you are a surfer (spammers excluded:), feel free to name yours. CheersResults till now, based on all 52 surfers:1] The Strawberry, fav by 23 surfers2] Apple, fav by 20 surfers3] Pineapple, fav by 18 surfers4] Grape, fav by 17 surfers5] Orange, fav by 16 surfersThose who have not added in your favorites, feel free to join in. Read more:Favorite
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PEPINO 2008-02-13 04:16:00 Common Name: PepinoVernacular Name: Pepino dulce, Pepino melon, Melon pearScientific Name: Solanum muricatumSpecimens From: ChinaSpecimens Weight: 185 gm (Average weight per fruit)Pepino, the exotic multi-colored fruit, native to South America in the region of Peru, Chile and Colombia. Although it is sometimes known as a melon, it is not a melon at all. Some cultivars only look and taste like a melon. It is in the same family as the popular tomato instead.Pepino is a Spanish word, meaning "cucumber" But why would they want to name it 'cucumber' when it does not even looks like one? Probably, some taste like one :)Pepino is an attractive fruit as it differs greatly in colors, shapes and sizes. It can be purple, green, yellow or cream colors, with or without purple stripes. (Specimens show
HAWTHORN - CHINESE HAW 2008-02-02 10:26:00 Common Name: Chinese HawVernacular Names: Shan ZhaScientific Name: Crataegus pinnatifidaSpecimens From: ChinaChinese haw is just one of the many species in the hawthorn group of fruits (Crataegus genus). It is found mainly in China and Korea.Chinese haw is a small fruit, about the size of a small crabapple. It is red and dotted with numerous small light brown spots. There are four to five odd shape seeds, clustering mostly in the center of the fruit.It can be eaten out of hand. It has a mealy texture and tastes slightly bitter and sour. The skin is edible but it is even more bitter. There is also the jar version where the fruits are preserved in sweet syrup.During winter, the candied version is extremely popular in Northern China. About ten fruits are skewed on a bamboo skewer and coated w
POMELO (Green Skin/Pink Flesh) 2008-01-27 13:32:00 Common Name: PomeloVernacular Names: Pummelo, Shaddock, Chinese grapefruitScientific Name: Citrus maximaSpecimens From: ThailandSpecimens Weight: 1 kgPomelo is the biggest citrus fruit, with some bigger than a soccer ball. It is native to South-east Asia and is now widely cultivated in many Asian countries and also in the Pacific. Pomelo is extremely popular during the Chinese lunar new year.Pomelo is huge and tipping the scale, way above 5 kg is not uncommon. The specimen fruit photo shown is considered as 'mini' size.The shape is usually slightly pear-shape or round. The skin color ranges from green to yellow. You can eat it even when it is green. The pulp can be clear, pale off-white, pink or almost red.Eating pomelo takes a bit of effort as the skin is extremely thick but spongy. Use t Read more:Green
STAR ANISE 2008-01-17 09:30:00 Common Name: Star AniseVernacular Names: Chinese star anise, BajiaoScientific Name: Illicium verumSpecimens From: ChinaStar anise is an unusual star-shaped fruit used as a spice, mostly in Asian cooking. Its flavor is similar to anise or aniseed, a popular spice used in Western cooking.The English name derives from the spice, anise, as the flavor tastes similar and by adding the word, "star" in front, since it looks like a star and to differentiate between the two spices.The Mandarin name, bajiao, literally means, "eight horns" as it is usually comes with eight pointed sections. There is one seed in every section. It is native to China and is now grown on a large commercial scale in China, Indo-China, India and Japan.The fruits are always picked before it is ripe and sun dried. It is then
PERSIMMON - TAMOPAN PERSIMMON 2008-01-09 11:20:00 Common Name: PersimmonVernacular Names: Oriental persimmon, Japanese persimmon, KakiScientific Name: Diospyros kakiSpecimens From: ChinaSpecimens Weight: 200 gmPersimmon in this species are also called "Oriental or Japanese" persimmon, excluding the "American Persimmon" as it is classified under another species but in the same family. It is native to China and is extremely popular in its native country and also in Japan and Korea.It is then divided into two categories, namely "Astringent and Non-astringent" persimmons:Astringent: Can only be eaten when it is completely ripe due to the high content of tannin.Non-astringent: Can be eaten even in it's hard, orange stage as the tannin content is greatly reduced, the moment it turn from green to orange.Tamopan persimmon is one of the cultivars
PASSION FRUIT (Purple Rind) 2007-12-20 06:44:00 Common Name: Passion fruitVernacular Name: GranadillaScientific Name: Passiflora edulisSpecimens From: MalaysiaSpecimens Weight: 88 gmPassion fruit is native from Brazil to Argentina, including Paraguay. This fruit's name, 'passion', derives from its flower, passion flower. The early Spanish explorers named it as they found the huge flowers resembled the crown of thorns, worn during the passion of Christ.Passion fruit is either oval or round, about the size of a tennis ball, though some can be bigger or smaller than that. This fruit usually comes in either purple or yellow, with a smooth and glossy rind.Just cut the fruit into half and scoop it with a spoon. Inside the thick rubbery rind, it contains a mess of yellowish-orange, jelly-lookalike pulp encircling numerous black seeds. The se Read more:Purple
Dragon Fruit (White Flesh) 2007-12-05 16:24:00 Common Name: WhiteDragon
fruitVernacular Names: Pitaya, Pitahaya, Strawberry pear Scientific Name: Hylocereus undatusSpecimens From: MalaysiaSpecimens Weight: 700 gmDragon fruit. Why would they called a fruit, dragon? If you had seen the plant, you would understand why. It really does looks like a wild dragon, with lots of messy overflowing branches, similar to the dragon wings, scales or hairs. The fruit itself does look like one too. This fruit originated from Mexico to northern South America.This is the common white dragon. It is one of the three main species of dragon fruit. The other two is the red flesh and the uncommon, yellow skin/white flesh. There are various cultivars of dragon fruit and since they do look alike to a layman, I will just put them under their colour classificati Read more:Fruit
HARDY KIWIFRUIT 2007-11-23 22:53:00 Common Name: Hardy KiwifruitVernacular Name: Baby kiwifruit, Kiwi berryScientific Name: Actinidia argutaSpecimens From: USASpecimens Weight: 6 gm (average weight per fruit)Kiwifruit have been around since several centuries back, mostly growing wild in China but only in the early 20th century onwards, that New Zealand experimented it and began cultivating it on a large commercial scale.Initially, they called it the "chinese gooseberry" because it came from China and it tastes similar to a gooseberry fruit (but it does not belongs to the gooseberry family). Once this fruit became popular, they renamed it to "kiwifruit". It is named after a type of bird, kiwi, which is ingenious to New Zealand.Basically there are four common species. The 'emerald green' flesh, the 'golden yellow' flesh, the '
PULASAN 2007-11-11 16:00:00 Common Name: PulasanScientific Name: Nephelium natubileSpecimens From: MalaysiaPulasan, originated from Malaysia, is very rare once out of South-east Asia, other than the Philippines. This crew-cut, punky fruit, is the cousin of the hairy rambutan.Pulasan, is way under-rated. If compare to the rambutan, it is bigger, sweeter and the flesh does not stick to the seed. Moreover, the seeds are edible. But surprisingly, not much is known about this exotic fruit.Eating style is exactly the same as eating the rambutan. Just use both your thumbs to prise it open. The leathery skin is soft but it is thicker and slightly harder to tear it apart. Pop the white, translucent flesh into your mouth or just bite it from your hand.The rind is usually red to reddish-black. The flesh is sweet and slightly ju
CAPE GOOSEBERRY 2007-11-06 11:10:00 Common Name: Cape GooseberryVernacular Names: Golden berry, PhysalisScientific Name: Physalis peruvianaSpecimens From: ColombiaSpecimens Weight: 6 gm (Average weight per fruit)Cape gooseberry, an unusual fruit with the leafy-liked husk surrounding its berry, is ideal for decorative purposes.It is native to South America, believes to be from Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru and it is now cultivated in many tropical, subtropical countries.Don't be mistaken by the name, "gooseberry". It is misleading as it is not a gooseberry at all as it does not even belongs to the gooseberry family. It is related to the tomato and potato instead.This fruit is a small round berry, about the size of a grape. It is orange-yellow when ripe and covered with a layer of shiny, waxing oil. Every berry is protecte
BLACKBERRY 2007-10-20 19:55:00 Common Name: BlackberryScientific Name: Rubus fruticosusSpecimens From: USAThe blackberry is not a true berry. It is an aggregate fruit of many smaller fruits together. It is a common fruit growing wild, throughout the northern parts of Europe and the American continent.The blackberry is presently classified under the sub-family of "Rosoideae" of "Rosaceae" family. "Rubus" genus is complex as it is further divided into many sub-genus. The species can easily hybrid with one another, both intentional and natural, giving rise to numerous hybrid berries. There are also many wild species of berries which look very similar to blackberries. And not forgetting numerous blackberry cultivars producing different sizes.Do not mix up with the black raspberry. It is another related fruit that looks alik
SUGAR APPLE (Red Rind) 2007-10-14 12:25:00 Common Name: Sugar appleVernacular Names: Sweetsop, Anon, Custard apple[misapplied]Scientific Name: Annona squamosaSpecimens From: MalaysiaSpecimens Weight: 210 gm (Average weight per fruit)Sugar apple, believes to be native from the Caribbean region and the northern South America but is now cultivated in most of the tropical countries throughout the world.This fruit is known by its numerous vernacular names, mostly by the languages of the different countries. Some countries loosely apply the name, custard apple to this fruit, which is misleading and technically incorrect. There is another fruit in the same family, which looks similar but not as common, known by the actual name of custard apple (annona reticulata). So don't be confused by the same name as both fruits are different.Sugar a
GRAPE - CALMERIA GRAPE 2007-10-09 18:05:00 Common Name: Calmeria GrapeScientific Name: Vitis viniferaSpecimens From: USASpecimens Weight: 636 gm (specimen's brunch)Grapes, a favorite fruit from the old world, dating back several thousand years ago. Grapes are often used and depicted in those movies where the kings and queens been fed by their subjects.There are several species of grapes but more than 90% of the cultivated grapes are from "vinifera" species (also known as the European grapes), which is native to the Mediterranean and central Asia. The minority of several other species, comes from the America continent.Grape production is mainly divided into 4 uses:Wine grapes: For wine makingTable grapes: For eating as fresh fruitsDried grapes: For drying and eaten as snacks, known as raisinsJuiced grapes: For canning as grape juice
SALAK 2007-10-02 15:50:00 Common Name: SalakVernacular Name: Snake fruit, Snakeskin fruitScientific Name: Salacca zalaccaSpecimens From: IndonesiaSpecimens Weight: 90 gm (Average weight per fruit)Salak, a native fruit from Indonesia and Malaysia but it seems to be very popular in Indonesia. Since it originated from these two "Malay-speaking" countries, the Malay name was adopted.Salak means "bark", as in bark of the tree. But why "bark"? Because the tough protective covering and the brown color of the bark looks similar to the skin of this fruit. But it actually looks almost identical to the scales of a snake's skin and hence, the English name of snake fruit or snake skin fruit are commonly used instead. And it belongs to the same family as those palm dates.Salak is considered as rare once out of South-east Asia b
CHERRY (Sweet Cherry) 2007-09-26 10:53:00 Common Name: Cherry
Vernacular Name: Sweet
cherry, Wild cherryScientific Name: Prunus AviumSpecimens From: USACherry, the lovable, heart-shaped fruit. Due to the attractive bright red and its unique shape, it is a popular fruit often used as decorations on cakes, cocktail drinks, desserts, to name a few. Although there are various species of cherries, most people would associate it with the sweet cherry as it is commonly found in the fresh market. The other, the sour cherry (P. cerasus), is mostly used for cooking. The rest of the cherry species are hardly available as most are not on cultivated scale.Wild cherry is native from, across Europe to Western Asia. The cultivated sweet cherry is derived from the wild cherry. Turkey is the leading producer of cherries, with the USA trailing behind
JUJUBE 2007-09-19 22:15:00 Common Name: JujubeVernacular Name: Common jujube, Chinese date, Red dateScientific Name: Ziziphus zizyphusSpecimens From: ChinaSpecimens Weight: 15 gm (Average weight per fruit)Jujube has been cultivated in China for at least a few thousand years back, with several hundred of known cultivars. It is still immensely popular till the present day, especially for the traditional and medicinal purposes.Depending on the various cultivars, it can be round, oval or elongated. It is usually olive-sized or slightly larger, with a single brown stone. Appearance somewhat like a wild crabapple. As you can see from the above photo, the immature jujube is green, ripens to yellowish-green with red spots appearing. It will turn fully red when mature and starts to wrinkle at the last stage.It can be eaten w
AVOCADO - HASS AVOCADO 2007-09-14 20:10:00 Common Name: AvocadoVernacular Name: Avocado pear, Alligator pear, Aguacate, PaltaScientific Name: Persea americanaSpecimens From: New ZealandSpecimens Weight: 165 gm (Average weight per fruit)Avocado, a very common fruit in North and South America as it is believed to be originated from Mexico. Back in the ancient time of the Aztec, they believed this fruit helped in fertility and thereby calling it "ahuacatl", meaning "testicle" because it shaped like one. What a name to begin with and an embarrassing one too. Since it is native to a Spanish-speaking country, the Spanish name, "aguacate" derives from it and in turn, the English name comes from the Spanish name. All the three names rhyme somehow, don't they? Up to today, Mexico is still the top producing country in the world, with the run
LONGAN 2007-09-10 16:49:00 Common Name: LonganVernacular Name: Lungan, Dragon's eyeScientific Name: Dimocarpus longanSpecimens From: ThailandLongan, a native fruit to Southern China, is now grown in several Asian countries with Thailand leading the way and also in a few tropical states of the USA. The name, longan, is a Cantonese word (a dialect of Chinese) meaning "Dragon's eye". It is so called because, the translucent white flesh covering the black shiny seed resemblance the eyeball of an oriental dragon.There are several varieties of longan. Some with very thin, tasteless flesh and hence, unpopular but this improved variety is meaty with thick and sweet flesh. Needless to say, it is very popular in South-east Asia, overtaken its bigger cousin (same family), the lychee.Longan can be additive. The more you eat, th
KIWIFRUIT (Green Flesh) 2007-09-06 20:40:00 Common Name: KiwifruitVernacular Name: Chinese gooseberry, KiwiScientific Name: Actinidia deliciosaSpecimens From: ItalySpecimens Weight: 72 gm (average weight per fruit)Kiwifruit have been around since several centuries back, mostly growing wild in China but only in the early 20th century onwards, that New Zealand experimented it and began cultivating it on a large commercial scale.Initially, they called it the "chinese gooseberry" because it came from China and it tastes similar to a gooseberry fruit (but it does not belongs to the gooseberry family). Once this fruit became popular, they renamed it to "kiwifruit". It is named after a type of bird, kiwi, which is ingenious to New Zealand. But why named it from a bird's name? Simply because the exterior brown colour and the fuzzy hair of t Read more:Green
RAMBUTAN (Red Skin) 2007-09-03 20:44:00 Common Name: RambutanScientific Name: Nephelium lappaceumSpecimens From: MalaysiaRambutan is a common fruit from South-east Asia as it is believed to be originated from around the region of Malaysia but is now cultivated in most of the tropical countries, with Thailand leading the production. The name derives from the Malay word, rambut, which means "hair" while the Chinese community call it the "red hair" fruit. It is the most hairy fruit around and it is usually red but there is a younger brother (cultivar) which is usually smaller in size and has a yellow skin, but it is not so commonly found.Rambutan is usually eaten out-of-hand. Just use both your thumbs to prise it open as the leathery skin is soft and easily tears apart. Pop the white, translucent flesh into your mouth or just bite
SOURSOP 2007-09-01 14:11:00 Common Name: SoursopVernacular Names: Sour sop, Guanabana, SoursapScientific Name: Annona muricataSpecimens From: MalaysiaSoursop, a native fruit from the West Indies, Central America, down to Brazil and it is a common fruit in tropical Asia nowadays. This fruit can be round, oval or irregular heart shaped. Some cultivars are huge, almost the size of a watermelon. It is dark green when unripe, as shown on the first photo, and will turn yellowish-green and slightly soft when it matures. Black blotches will start to appear and that indicates over-ripes.As the name says it all, it is sour. As a rough guide, it is about 80% sour with 20% sweetness. Soursop is extremely juicy and seedy, hence it is quite a messy fruit to eat. The skin may look leathery but it tears easily. Just cut it like you
PERSIMMON - FUYU PERSIMMON 2007-08-29 15:55:00 Common Name: PersimmonVernacular Names: Oriental persimmon, Japanese persimmon, Kaki, Sharon fruitScientific Name: Diospyros kakiSpecimens From: ChinaSpecimens Weight: 138 gm (average weight per fruit)Persimmon in this species are also called "Oriental or Japanese" persimmon, excluding the "American Persimmon" as it is classified under another species but in the same family. It is basically divided into two categories, namely "Astringent and Non-astringent" persimmons:Astringent: Can only be eaten when it is completely ripe due to the high content of tanin.Non-astringent: Can be eaten even in it's hard, orange stage as the tanin content is greatly reduced, the moment it turn from green to orange.Fuyu persimmon is by far the most popular and well-known cultivar of persimmons. It is a non-as
INDIAN JUJUBE 2008-03-06 14:30:00 Common Name: Indian JujubeVernacular Name: BerScientific Name: Ziziphus mauritianaFrom: IndiaIndian jujube is native from Southern China to India but can be found in many other warmer countries. It differs from its more popular cousin, Chinese jujube, which is the hardier species that grown in cooler countries.India jujube receives much attention in India, where many cultivars have been explored. Depending on the various cultivars, it can be round, oval or oblong. The immature jujube is green, ripens to yellowish-green. It will turn fully brown or red when mature and starts to wrinkle when over-ripes.It can be eaten whole, minus the single stone, at any of the ripening stages. Crisp, mildly sweet to astringent when green to yellow but soft, sweet and mealy when it ripens. It is usually sma
GRAPE - RED GLOBE GRAPE 2008-03-17 16:25:00 Common Name: Red Globe GrapeScientific Name: Vitis viniferaSpecimens From: ChinaGrapes, a favorite fruit from the old world, dating back several thousand years ago. Grapes are often used and depicted in those movies where the kings and queens been fed by their subjects.There are several species of grapes but more than 90% of the cultivated grapes are from "vinifera" species (also known as the European grapes), which is native to the Mediterranean and central Asia. The minority of several other species, comes from the America continent.Grape production is mainly divided into 4 uses:Wine grapes: For wine makingTable grapes: For eating as fresh fruitsDried grapes: For drying and eaten as snacks, known as raisinsJuiced grapes: For canning as grape juice, jam and preservesThere are several thou
POMEGRANATE (Red Rind) 2008-03-25 15:30:00 Common Name: PomegranateVernacular Names: Grenade, GranadaScientific Name: Punica granatumSpecimens from: IndiaSpecimens Weight: 188 gm (average weight per fruit)Pomegranate, the name derives from the Latin language, meaning "fruit/apple with many grains/seeds". Yes, the name says it all. If you bother to count the seeds, it is usually between 300 to 700. This is a fruit from the ancient world. It is native from Iran to northern India and has been cultivated and spread throughout the Mediterranean region since biblical times.The rind of the fruit usually ranges from yellowish-orange, pink to full red. The photos shown above is the red pomegranate cultivar, which is commonly found in most places. The taste ranges from juicy sweet, acidic sweet to tangy sour but it is usually somewhere in-be
THANKS TO ALL SPONSORS 2008-03-25 15:28:00 Fruit Species site wishes to acknowledge and thanks to Google Adsense, Project Wonderful and to all my past, present and future sponsors in helping to maintain this educational and informative fruit site. And not forgetting about all the subscribers, regulars and visitors for dropping by.All photographs are personally taken by the author and all cost involves in maintaining, including sourcing and purchasing the numerous fruits of which some of the exotic and rare ones can be very expensive, are also borne by the author. Thank you for your understanding and your support, to keep this site going and in the long run, it will benefit everyone.In appreciation, this site will provide a free link to your site on this page, for the top three sponsors*. To all the past, present and new sponsors, p
BOTTLE GOURD (Container Shape) 2008-04-04 13:43:00 Common Name: Bottle gourdVernacular Names: Calabash, HuluScientific Name: Lagenaria sicerariaSpecimens From: ChinaSpecimens Weight: 278 gmBottle gourd was one of the earliest cultivated fruits, dating back at least several thousand years BC. Its origin is said to be from Africa but it is still disputable and debated on. It is grown mainly for its multi-purpose usages rather than for food consumption.Bottle gourd comes in numerous shape and sizes, including those intentional growth. The bottle gourd photos shown above is one of the most common shape used as a container. The smaller fruit is for decorative purposes whereas the larger matured fruit is mainly used as utensil, bottle, container or pot. The huge ones can reach way over three feet in length. It is so huge and fat that it looks s Read more:Container
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