Golden apple (Spondius cytherea)
By Richard J. Campbell
As Published at the Miami Herald
We all are in search for plants that enrich our lives, but
require a minimum of time investment on our part. The mombins, as a group fit perfectly
into this mold, providing aesthetics for our home garden, fruit for our
enjoyment and more time for our families. They are in the mango family and come
from Central America and Southeast
Asia to provide us with nearly carefree plants for our home
gardens. While there are many to choose from, we will highlight two species
perfect for South Florida.
The purple mombin (Spondias purpurea) is known by many
names throughout its native range in Central America,
including Mexican plum, jocote, jobo and hog plum. The latter name should not
be taken as derogatory; it denotes the extreme usefulness of this fruit,
serving not only as food for the people, but also for domestic livestock.
Throughout
is essential for subsistence farmers, providing a food source with little
investment of time and money.
The tree remains small in most conditions and is among the
easiest of plants to propagate. So easy that it has been used as a living fence
in many of the locations where it is found. When the tree loses its leaves in
the dry season it can be started simply by planting one of the leafless
branches. Few plants offer such ease of propagation.
The purple mombin is a monsoon and drought adapted tree.
During the rainy season it will have a lush, green canopy and will grow at an
impressive rate, and during the dry season it will lose its leaves completely.
In areas with severe, long dry seasons the purple mombin will remain leafless
for several months. The tree will produce a multitude of small red flowers along
the length of the bare branches that will set fruit with no worries of
pollination. There are red-, yellow- and green-skinned selections that ripen at
the end of the dry season, arriving to the size of a ping pong ball or even
bigger in some selections. Unfortunately their stone is also large.
The flesh is eaten skin and all and the flavor is sweet and
tart, with a slight hint of mango. The fruit are almost always eaten fresh, but
can be made into preserves or even used as dried fruit. A good selection will
be extremely productive if the tree is allowed to dry out properly during the
dry season and given an ample dose of sunshine. The form of the tree, low and
spreading when grown in the open, is pleasing to the eye and a joy for children
to frolic among its branches. Fertilization, pest and disease control will not
be necessary and irrigation is highly discouraged within the South
Florida landscape.
The second mombin, which comes from Southeast
Asia, is called the golden apple and warrants inclusion in the
home garden for many of the same reasons. There are several types, but the most
useful may be the dwarf golden apple, which appeared in the Americas in the
last 20 years. The dwarf golden apple can be kept no taller than 8 ft in the
home landscape. One will rarely find a tree that is easier to care for, and the
tree will flower and fruit within the first year of planting – guaranteed. In
the landscape it is a handsome small tree that will not overwhelm the home
gardener.
The dwarf golden apple has one distinct drawback. It is so
productive that it should have its fruit thinned in order to achieve a larger
fruit size. The blooms occur at the ends of the short branches and will set as
many as 20 to 30 fruit on each cluster. However, with your fingers or hand
shears all of the fruit except 1 or 2 should be removed. Fret not, for the
dwarf golden apple will keep producing blooms from its many branches. The
challenge will be to keep up with the fruit thinning, but it will be worth it.
When thinned the fruit will be the size and shape of a jumbo
egg. The fruit will be yellow in color and will have a sweet and tart flavor
with even more of a mango flavor. The fruit are usually eaten out of hand, but
there are many ways of preserving the fruit into pickles and chutneys. Just
like the purple mombin the dwarf golden apple will lose its leaves during the
driest of seasons, although it will not stay bare for nearly as long. The tree
is almost ever-bearing, so when it does lose its leaves it will often still
have fruit at the ends of its branches. It is best to harvest these fruit and
do a little clean-up pruning on your golden apple at this time.
The golden apple, unlike the purple mombin, is best grown
from seed. It will produce an identical plant to the mother tree. The new plant
will begin to flower and fruit within one year of planting and thinning of the
fruit on a young tree is important for proper fruit size and overall tree
health. The dwarf golden apple will benefit more from light fertilization with
a fruit tree fertilizer and will require no irrigation or pest control sprays.
The mombins are not common in the landscapes of South Florida, but when you encounter a community with
many residents of Central American heritage, the mombins will definitely show
themselves. Plants can be purchased from specialty fruit tree nurseries, but
remember that if you wait until the dry season and ask for a branch of a good
selection from a neighbor or friend, you too can be in production within a year
or two. For the dwarf golden apple a seed will do quite nicely.
The mombins are the model of efficiency for the modern
homeowner. There will be a maximum amount of time to enjoy the fruit of one’s
labors and a minimum of work in managing the tree. It may take a little more
time to find a good selection, but the reward is indeed substantial. Find one,
plant it and enjoy!