Dillenia indica / Elephant apple, commonly known as Chalta

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Pitanga - Rousaille

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Ripe Spondias dulcis - fruits de cythère

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Egg fruit / Lekima - Pouteria

The fruits are yellowish to orange with somewhat meaty pulp resembling a cooked egg yolk .

Egg fruit (Pautaria campechiana), belonging to the family sapotaceae, is a large, symmetrical, bushy, much branched, evergreen tree.

The tree reaches a height of 20-30 feet. The leaves are compound, large, leathery, 10-15 inches long and 3 inches broad. The flowers are medium sized borne on terminal and auxiliary inflorescence.

The fruits are yellowish to orange with somewhat meaty pulp similar in appearance and texture to a cooked egg yolk embedded often with a single large seed. At maturity, the strong odour of the pulp is musky and the skin colour turns from glossy to dull.

The taste of the fruit is unique, rich, sweet and highly nutritive with about 2000 IU/100g of carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.

It is also a good source of protein and vitamin C with 2.5 per cent and 43 mg/100 g respectively. Egg fruit thrives well in tropical and subtropical climates.

Moderate rainfall, frost free and dry climate are ideal for its cultivation. It has a wide adaptability to various soil conditions and grows in soils ranging from loose sandy to heavy clay.

The trees are generally propagated by seeds. Since the seeds have poor visibility they should be sown immediately.

It is also propagated vegetatively by approach grafting. Since no named varieties are available, planting materials should be collected from good bearers.

No serious pest and disease affects this crop. The fruits can be eaten fresh either without removing the skin or after peeling and slicing.

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Jackfruit - Artocarpus heterophyllus

The jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus is an enormous, bristle, egg-shaped fruit that have been first nurtured in Indian tropical forest. it is mostly grown in tropical climates. The tree is striking and majestic, 9-21 m tall, with rubbery leaves 22.5 cm long. Almost all the parts of the tree secrete sticky latex like milk (juice) when injured.

jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus

The fruit varies widely in size, weigh from 3 to 30 kg, and has a round shape measuring 10 cm to 60 cm in length, 25 to 75 cm in diameter. The immature fruits are green; when ripen, might turn to light brown color and spread a strong sweet, fruity smell. Its outer surface is covered with the blunt spikes like projections, which become soft as the fruit ripe. Its interior consists of orange-yellow tinted edible bulbs. Each bulb consists of sweet-flavored coverings that encircle a smooth, oval, light-brown color seed.

outer surface is covered with the blunt spikes like projections

Jackfruit seed is 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 3 cm thick and is white and crisp within. There may be as many as 100 to 500 edible bulbs rooted in a single fruit interspersed between thin bands of fibers. Jackfruit seeds are indeed very rich in protein and nutritious. In general, the seeds are gathered from the ripe fruit, sun-dried and stored for use in rainy season in many parts of South Indian states. Different variety of recipes prepared in Southern India where they are eaten either by roasting as a snack or added to curries in place of lentils.

The leaf

The ripe fruit

The separated ripe fruits, with seeds, without seeds, and seeds

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Spider plant - Chlorophytum comosum

Spider plants are botanically known as Chlorophytum comosum, and from studies done by NASA, they are good at purifying the air in your home and adds oxygen. Spider plants are easy to cultivate both indoors and outdoors. The Spider Plant is characterized by its long shoots of thin foliage, with off-shoots at the ends of many of the leaves. The Spider plant's leaves is commonly known to be variegated. It has green foliage with either a white or yellow central strip or along the outside edges or it can also have ones that are all green. It looks similar to thick, wild grass.

white or yellow central strip

Spider plants favor natural medium to high light, but no direct afternoon sunlight. The variegated spider plants need more light than the plain green ones. If the leaves begin turning brown, try moving the plant out of the direct light.

Spider plants are delicate to the chemicals in tap water (reasons for the brown tips). They should always be watered with purified water, rain water, or if you have an aquarium, it will thrive on that water. Once you have changed the water source, all the new leaves should be normal, but you will have to trim the brown tips off the old leaves. You can remove the brown ends by snipping them off with sharp scissors (Tip: Cut the ends in points so the leaves look more natural).

Rot is caused by over-watering. Spider plants should be allowed to dry out before being re-watered. If rot has begun, the plant may die. You can try to rescue the plant by removing it from its container and dividing it. Discard the rotten part and re-pot the healthy parts in a clean container with new soil.

Pests and mites are not a problem with this houseplant, however if it happens simply spray a soapy water mixture over the plants a couple of times a day.

The off shoots can be removed and placed in soil or water which will then grow into its own plant in very little time. It is actually good to remove these off shoots from the main plant. Too many off shoots can cause the main plant to strain. Spider plants propagate very easily, with less care.

Off shoots

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Heliconia Psittacorum (Heliconiaceae)

Heliconia psittacorum

'Andromeda'

Grows to 1.5m high, favors well drained rich soils, full sun to part shade, flowers during summer.


Common Names:
Parakeetflower
Heliconia Parakeetflower
Parrot's Beak
Parrot's Flower
Parrot's Plant
Parrot's Tonque
Popokaytongo

Heliconia psittacorum ‘Andromeda’ is one of the most popular types of Heliconia, probably due to the fact that it is one of the easiest plan. It is an exotic plant, which blooms abundantly all year long. ‘Andromeda’grows up to 1.5 meters tall, with bright red/orange flowering bracts. The flowers make beautiful cut flowers which can last up to 3-4 weeks in water and will stay fresh on the stem even longer. Best when planted in large groups.

Planting instructions

• Please plant as soon as possible after you receive the rhizome.
• The rhizome should still have growing ‘buds’ or new shoots as well as the leaf stem.
• The rhizome should be planted with the top (leaf stem/new shoots/buds pointing upwards) no more than 3-4 cm under the soil. New Shoots or larger buds should be above the soil. You can often look at the rhizome and see where the soil line had been while it was growing.
• It is very important not to plant the rhizome too deep, as this will invite fungi and cause root rot. Freshly planted rhizomes need oxygen to grow new roots and will die if the planting medium is too dense or too wet.
• After planting, water thoroughly, and then do not water again until soil is getting dry. Keep evenly moist, but not wet, when shoots to grow and leaves start to unfold.
• If planted in pots, these should be of sufficient size - at least 10 to 15 cm wider than rhizome size. Keep the pots in a warm, sunny place.
• When leaves start to unfold the plants can be planted out - again in well-drained soil.

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