I say! Is that a delicious monster in your pocket or are you just...?
I love the form of these flower and fruits. I have never eaten one. Never seen one ripen, here under the London plane at No. 9. They disappear, mysteriously. Tasting the Central American fruit is one of my (few) life's ambitions.
They are left to their own devices in this garden. The shade is almost complete in summer, and the water erratic. In winter and spring the tree loses its leaves, and there is weak sun on brilliant Cape winter days, inbetween sheets (and feet) of rain. I have no doubt that they have invasive potential, especially in subtropical parts of their non native range. But here they remain well behaved, curfewed by occasional drought and temperatures a little lower than they might like, on some winter nights.
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A beautiful shot - so architectural!
ReplyDeleteMy wonderful grandfather let me try one, years ago, in his magical terraced garden of delights in Durban. It had a taste somewhere along the tropical spectrum between pineapple and banana. The high oxalic acid content was pronounced, and left my mouth feeling prickly for a while afterwards. It was worth it.
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