Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

All the info I found at USDA was on the fruit itself, not plant material.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

I found some info on the mangosteen that I found by searching the terms: "can i import mangosteen tree?". I will post a link to the site where I found the following info:

'Although efforts have been made to grow orchards, because of their finicky growth patterns and unpredictable harvest times, mangosteen trees are mostly found along the banks of rivers or lakes, as the tree roots need almost constant moisture.

Because of governmental regulations, import of the fresh mangosteen fruit into the United States is illegal. Fears of introducing the devastating Asian fruit fly into the country have mainly kept the fruits themselves from crossing the borders, although occasionally one may find a mangosteen fruit on the shelves of a small Asian grocery store. And because mangosteen trees only grow in certain climates, attempts to cultivate the fruit within the country have yet to "fruitfully" succeed.'

Here is the link to the full article: Mangosteen - The "Queen" Of Fruits

I have found rare fruits at an oriental mart before. As a matter of fact, I stopped by one today and bought some longans. They also had jackfruit and another fruit that looked like jackfruit, but with pronounced spikes. I think it was called Durian... **nope, not Durian if the picture posted below is accurate.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Found a site that sells the trees. Claims it is legal to import the trees in the US.. I only briefly looked at it, so research it well and buy at your own risk.

Site: Mangosteen

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Thanks supermario. Seems to be in Hawaii.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Interesting can I hear hydroponic?

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

7-11 years to fruit though.........................sounds like a Pecan tree.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Well technically thats why most trees you buy a few years old already ;)

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

They offer a one year and a two year old......................LOL

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

LOL @ 1 and 2 year olds. That reminds me of another fruiting tree that takes FOREVER to give fruit...The Jaboticaba. I went by Pine Island Nursery looking for some and they had what looked like 2 year old plants in pots for $50. In reality, the tree grows so painfully slow that they were actually around 5 years old!(Takes about 10 years to see fruit)

I ended up going right around the corner and found trees 3 times the size for $85. I have seen trees that size with fruit on them in the past, so I shouldn't have to wait more than a year or two.
:woohoonaner:

Fruiting Jaboticaba trees sell for no less than $350 down here! I would imagine a large mangosteen tree would be insanely expensive.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Jungle Jims in Fairfield Ohio (Cincinnati) has quite a selection of food from around the world.

Michael

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Got back from the Hang & Lung Asian market on Rivers Ave.(in Charleston) a little while ago. Got a good haul of Namwah Thai bananas, Banana Hot Sauce, and a dragon fruit. Had a durian in the cart, but it would have cost $15 so we put it back.

Water, sugar, banana, salt, onion/garlic powder and some colors with numbers.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Looks like a hedgehog and smells like an old folks home.........Durian

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Saw 'Manzano's the other day at Whole Foods. They looked terrible, I think they were stored too cold and couldn't ripen properly. I got a few, compared to fresh 'Manzano' they were terrible, but they were ok.

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Today I stopped at my local Pick&Save Metro Market (excel. store with rare produce) & I looked to see what they had in produce. I bought a Dragon Fruit w/ magenta flesh (one left), A (very unripe) cherimoya, a mangosteen (first time ever!) a a few lychee nuts (also first time ever)!! And, a red banana.
I tasted Cherimoya before but this one was very hard. Just unripe.
The dragon fruit was pretty good but bland cuz it was old. I was surprised at how small the mangosteen is! Had a very hard shell & soft inside...just OK (maybe cuz it was old). I never saw lychee nuts but they were weird. very soft inside & kinda bland but good. Will plant the seeds...or is that what I was s'posed to eat LOL? The red banana was perfect ripe & was good. What is the plant called? It just said "red" banana.
Rare to see any of these here! What a thrill! Now, I'd love to try Jackfruit & Durian :)

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

Cherimoyas are difficult to judge while on the tree. If picked at the right time, it should feel like a ripe mango. I believe they do not ripen well if picked too early, but I'm not sure.

In my opinion, dragon fruit isn't all that great. Even the sweetest varieties seem a bit too watery. I'd compare them to a watermelon, but with less sugar.

I've never heard anyone call it that before. :) Lychees are not nuts.. I think they are technicaly berries(any experts out there?) Good varieties are sweet, flesh seperates from seed easily, and most will produce a small aborted seed(called chicken tongue seed) instead of the one that looks like a 'nut'. :)
To eat a lychee, you just peel the skin and pop it in and work the flesh off the seed in your mouth.. Or you could remove the flesh from the seed with your hands like I do. I prep a bunch and then sit down and scarf 'em down.

Oh!..and PLEASE try them cold. Pop the package in the fridge for about an hour or so and your good to go. Soooo much better! Longans too!

As for planting lychee seeds.. here is some info from Purdue's web site:

Propagation

Lychees do not reproduce faithfully from seed, and the choicest have abortive, not viable, seed. Furthermore, lychee seeds remain viable only 4 to 5 days, and seedling trees will not bear until they are 5 to 12, or even 25, years old. For these reasons, seeds are planted mostly for selection and breeding purposes or for rootstock.

You can read the rest of the info here: Lychee

Unfortunately, lots of the world's best fruit are not propogated by seed.

I think it's called 'Cuban Red' or 'Jamaican Red'

Re: Mangosteens and other tropical fruits found in Knoxville!
 

I just wanted to mention...

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but Publix is big here in Florida. I've seen Jackfruit, Durian, and a few other fruits sold in cans there. I found them at the very end of the canned fruit section, but have seen it in the 'ethnic' section a few times.. maybe your local grocer has such a section and you just haven't noticed it. I know that was the case with me!

Anyways, I purchased the Jackfruit and was surprised at how good it was! Being that Jackfruits can weigh up to 80lbs, I figure the canned stuff is the more reasonable option. :)

The durians were a whopping $10 per 12oz can!