Fruit trees we are looking for
Quenettes
Quenettier (Melicoccus bijugatus) is a fruit tree native to an area extending from Colombia to Guyana. It belongs to the Sapindaceae family. It is native or naturalized in a vast American intertropical domain including Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname and the West Indies. It is characterized by its fruit, which is close to lychee, longan and rambutan. This fruit is round or slightly elongated, like a small lime. It has a green skin, smooth and rigid. Its pulp, slightly astringent, is juicy, sweet, tart and yellow-orange in color. The large kernel contains an edible almond when grilled. It is very popular in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Mamoncillo is the most popular Spanish name. However, there are other names used, depending on its location. These are probably names of pre-Columbian origin, such as mauco or muco in Colombia and Venezuela; we still have Kenepa, Guenepa, Genip, Guinep in the British West Indies; Ackee for Barbados; Limoncillo in the Dominican Republic; Canopi in Brazil; Quenepe in Haiti; Quenette in the French West Indies and many other denominations in the Caribbean and South America.
The species is dioecious but some trees are partly hermaphrodite. The white and fragrant flowers are clustered on a short pedicel of 4 to 8 mm. The clusters are very branched for male flowers and generally simple for the female flower, 6 to 10 cm long and 5 to 8 mm wide. The flowers are composed of four small sepals and four petals of respectively 2 and 3 mm long, eight stamens or a pistil with a bifid stigma. Hermaphroditic flowers usually have sterile pollen. The fruit is a rounded drupe of green color (2.5 to 3.5 cm in diameter) with a small terminal protuberance. The skin of the fruit is smooth, thin, leathery but brittle. The aril, translucent salmon gelatinous and juicy, is firmly attached to the seed size bulky. The pulp is generally acid-sweet and slightly astringent. In general there is only one large, hard-shelled seed in the fruit, however some trees produce fruit with two hemispherical seeds.
Melicoccus lepidopetalus Radlk is another member of the similar genus and is used as a fresh fruit in Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
Flowering takes place once a year, from April to June in Puerto Rico, two months later in Trinidad, and from July to December with variations between the Caribbean regions. In general, the presence of a male tree is necessary to pollinate the flowers of the female trees. Only a small proportion of the flowers develop into fruit, a process that takes a hundred days. The flowers have an attractive nectar for their pollinators such as hummingbirds and bees.
The Mamoncillo fruit is eaten fresh as a snack by simply tearing the skin and sucking the pulp and juice. It is also used to make jam, marmalade or jelly, which involves a lot of work for small amounts of edible material. It is also peeled and boiled to make cold drinks. In some countries the juice is marketed and its seeds are roasted and eaten. It is a fruit particularly rich in sucrose, glucose and fructose as well as iron and phosphorus. For fruit picking a ladder is often necessary because the tree is usually large. Once ripe the crust of the fruit becomes brittle, but does not change color. Due to its tough skin, the fruit stays fresh for a long time.
Medicinal use: In Venezuela, the seeds are roasted, crushed and mixed with honey. The substance is then administered to stop diarrhea. A decoction of astringent leaves is given as an enema against intestinal pain.
Wood: Its wood has a yellow heart with dark lines, it is compact, hard and heavy, which gives it a value for rafters. It is therefore very appreciated in cabinet making, to realize the interior framing or others.
Ornamental plant: It is found on the roadsides and gardens of the West Indies and South America where it is used as decoration.
Honey plant: The foraging bees produce a dark honey, with a very pleasant flavor. The tree is appreciated by beekeepers even if the flowering period is short.
Plant: A dye has been experimentally made from raw fruit juice, which makes an indelible stain.
Others: In Panama, the leaves are scattered in houses where there are many fleas. It is claimed that these are attracted to the leaves and some believe that the leaves actually kill them.