FRUITS OF 1887

Listing from the 1887-88 catalog of the Reasoner brothers' Royal Palm Nurseries. The tropical and semi-tropical designations are those that were applied at the time and not necessarily how these crops would be classified today. The comments were taken from a 1889 report for the American Pomological Society. Wherever possible Dr. Knight has updated the scientific names.

Tropical Fruit PlantsBarbados cherry (Malpighia glabra)Rose apple (Syzygium jambos)
Bael (Aegle marmelos) Spanish lime (Melicoccus bijugatus) Comment: "Of value for home consumption only".Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Comment: Well-adapted to cultivation here, but grown only to a limited extent.
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)Ceriman (Monstera deliciosa) Comment: Has fruited; wider cultivation urged.Tropical almond (Terminalia catappa) Comment: "A great many are grown in Key West, where the fruit is used for home consumption, it has no particular commercial value."
Pineapple (Ananas comosus) Comment: Most important tropical fruit grown in Florida. "Red Spanish is grown to a greater extent than other varieties chiefly through ignorance and ... difficulty in obtaining plants of better varieties." Sugar loaf, smooth Cayenne, Queen, Ripley Queen, Trinidad and Porto Rico are the choicest.Mango (Mangifera indica) Cultivars: Apple, Apricot, Common yellow, Curacao, Guatamala, manga, Purple Apple, plus 5 others not priced. Comment: Fruit is "very extensively grown throughout southern Florida."Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflora)
Bignay (Antidesma bunius) Banana/plantain (Musa sp.) Cultivars: Apple (Hart's choice), Cavendish, Golden, Orinoco, Red Jamaica, '"True Plantain".Limeberry (Triphasia trifoliata)
Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) Comment: One of the most valuable tropical fruits, worthy of more extensive planting.Voa-vanga (Vangueria edulis, V. madagascariensis)Camera Icon, link to image
Pond apple (Annona glabra)Wild dilly (Manilkara bahamensis)Spanish plum (Ximenia americana)
Soursop (Annona muricata) Comment: Acid fruit esteemed for drinks, "an important adjunct at the sickroom".Purple passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) Comment: Best of several species. P. quadrangularis is also an excellent fruit Semi tropical fruit plants
Custard apple (Annona reticulata) Comment: Few trees fruiting in the State.Giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis)Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
Sugar apple (Annona squamosa) Comment: (More grown than all the other annonas, "it seems to be most in demand in the markets of Key West."Barbados gooseberry (Pereskia aculeata) Carob (Ceratonia siliqua)
Carambola (Averrhoa carambola) Avocado (Persea americana) Comment: Grown on the Keys and the mainland north to Tampa Bay and the Indian River, and "has become quite popular in New York City, where it sells for high prices."Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) 9 cvs including 'Key' (Florida')
Bilimbing (Averrhoa bilimbi)Otaheite gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) Oranges, sour/bittersweet (Citrus aurantium) 3 cvs.
Mammee sapote (Calocarpum sapota) Comment: "Has fruited as far north as the Pinellas Peninsula." Fruit in demand at good prices but not widely grown.Emblic (Phyllanthus emblic)Pummelo (Citrus grandis) 3 cvs.
Papaya (Carica papaya) Comment: "Of value for home use, but not adapted for general cultivation."Egg fruit (Pouteria campechiana) Comment: Good table fruit grown to 25°N Lat.'Tahiti' lime (Citrus limon) 5 cvs (large stock) plus others.
Carissa (Carissa grandiflora)Guava (Psidium guajava) Cultivars: Common, Saharanpur large round, Var. from Calcutta. Comment: Numerous varieties; the 'White Winter' reproduces itself from seed and is the best fruit for canning.Citron (Citrus medica)
Souari nut (Caryocar nuciferum)Araca (Psidium guineense) also P. cujavillusChinnoto (Citrus myrtifolia)
Star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito) Comment: Has fruited in limited quantity; excellent table fruit.Downy Rosemyrtle (Rodomyrtus tomentosus)Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) 3 cvs.
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Comment: Extensively cultivated in the Keys and northward to Lake Worth and Charlotte Harbor.Biriba (Rollinia mucosa)Mandarin (Citrus reticulata)
Cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco)Hog plum (Spondias mombin) also S. amara, possibly a form of S. mombin. Comment: Delicious, quite well-known, being planted in many southern counties. Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis) 69 cvs plus seedlings
Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera)Drawing of Musa enseteBanana. "As for the plant on which they grow, no mere words can picture the simple grandeur and grace of a form which startles me whenever I look steadily at it; for, however common it is - none commoner here - it is so unlike aught else, so perfect in itself, that, like a palm, it might well have become, in earlier ages, an object of worship. And who knows that it has not? Who knows that there have not been races who looked upon it as the red Indian looked on Mondamin, the maize plant, a gift of a god perhaps the incarnation of a god? Who Knows?Loquat Eriobotrya japonica
Pigeon plum (Coccoloba diversifolia)Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora)
Tree tomato (Cyphomandra betaceaFig (Ficus carica) Cvs Brown Turkey, Celeste, Lemon and others
Grumichama (Eugenia brasilensis) Also E. wildenovii and E. zeylanica.Kumquat ( Fortunella sp.)
Elephant apple (Garcinia pictoria (sic) probably tinctoria)Indian fig cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica)
Glycosmis (Glycosmis auriantiaca (= G. citrifolia)Date (Phoenix dactylifera) seedling only
Jamaican mandarin (Glycosmis pentaphylla)Catley guava (Psidium littorale) red, yellow plus cv named 'Adam's Purple'.
Peach palm (Guillielma gasipaes)Pomegranate (Punica granatum) 7 fruiting cvs plus 4 ornamental cvs.
Mammee apple (Mammea americana) Comment: Cultivation north to Charlotte Harbor advocated, since large quantities were then being imported from Cuba.Jujube, common (Ziziphus jujuba)
Article from RFCI Inc.
TROPICAL FRUIT NEWS Vol.22 November, 1988

DATE: January 1989

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