Lychee – China’s Favourite Fruit

“It is the most tasty and beautiful fruit that God created in the Universe  “and” one of the daintiest packages that has ever been wrapped by natures hand”.  Thus remarked early travellers to China talking, of course, of the Lychee.

Many West Australians have eaten canned Lychees particularly as a dessert served in Chinese Restaurants. Few have experienced the joy of eating the fresh fruit which the canned product ‘pale ale’ indeed.

The great news is that you can grow this delicious fruit in your own garden. In fact the tree is so attractive with leaves that emerge a coppery colour before turning glossy green, that you can plant it in the front garden. When in full crop the tree is covered in clusters of bright red strawberry like fruits – a spectacular sight.

The Fruit

Around 4 – 6 cms  (1 ½ – 2″) in diameter Lychees are borne in clusters of 3 to 20 at the tips of the branches. When ripe they are bright red. The rough ,brittle shell is peeled to reveal firm, sweet, white translucent flesh ­enclosing one or two dark brown seeds.

Eat Lychees fresh from the tree. One delightful dinner party idea is to place a whole branch as a table centre piece and allow your guests to pick their own. Store ripe fruit in plastic bags in the fridge for up to three weeks. Lychees can also be dried or frozen. Fruits do not ripen after harvesting so it is important to pick at the peak of sweetness.

The Tree

A handsome, bushy evergreen the Lychee can grow to around 10 metres high. It’s a great choice if you are looking for a shady ornamental tree – and of course the bonus is the delightful fruit. Lychees are tolerant of

light frosts as well as our summer heat. Commercial plantings are taking place around Gingin.  Lychees are self fertile – so you only need one tree for fruit. Trees will commence cropping usually in their third year after planting. The size of the crop appears to increase yearly so that trees of 20 to 30 years can produce 150 to 300 kilograms. That’s a whole lot of Lychees.

How to Grow Your Lychee Tree at Home

Choose a sunny position protected from strong winds. Considered to be a heavy feeder,  Lychee will benefit from regular applications of fertilizer through the growing season. A rich, well drained soil is ideal – use plenty of compeat and well matured animal manure to build up sandy soils. It is essential to keep Lychees well watered through the growing season. Mulching with animal manure is common practice in tropical regions as an aid to moisture retention and protection for the shallow feeder roots from sun scald. It is certainly a recommended step here, in addition it lifts humidity and this is beneficial.

Growing Lychee in Perth Conditions

Varieties Suitable for Perth

Choose varieties like KWAI MAY PINK (BOSWORTH 3), KWAI MAY RED (BOSWORTH 10) BENGAL, HAAK YIP, TAl SO, BREWSTER, etc; Low vigour varieties like WAT CHEE and SALATHIEL (NO MAl CHEE) may not be suitable for Perth and its surrounds. This is being investigated further.

Planting

Best time to plant is in October/early November.  Select the sunniest and warmest spot, sheltered from wind of else provide wind shelter. Dig a hole about 500mm x 500mm and 500mm deep. 3ft Mix this soil with 10 litres of compost or other orqanic matter, 10 litres of rotted DEFINITELY NOT FRESH) chicken manure and 200g super phosphate. Refill hole. Best if this can be done three months in advance. Treat the root system carefully as it is very brittle. If damaged can set the tree back or even kill it. Place the plant in the hole at the same soil level as it was in the pot. Any deeper may cause collar rot. Securely tie to a stake and make sure the plant does not rub against the stake. 7 Mulch the tree surround heavily. Keep mulch away from the stem.

Watering

Water from about September to May (or until the start of rain).

1.         In year one apply about 10 litres per day.

2.         In year two apply about 10-15 litres per day.

3.         Increase progressively with years until at year five or so when  the tree starts ·fruiting apply about 30-40

litres per day. Best if this water can be delivered over a period of say half of one hour.

AVOID OVERHEAD WATERING~ CAN CAUSE SALT BURN. YOUNG PLANTS REMAIN STUNTED AND SOMETIMES DIE. IF USING SPRINKLERS INSTALL LOW TRAJECTORY NOZZLES.

Feeding

1.         Year One –  When plant starts to flush (grow leaves) apply 30g of urea EVERY MONTH and 30g NPK Blue

every THREE MONTHS during the growing season only.

2.         Year Two – From October to April apply 40 urea EVERY MONTH plus 40kg NPK Blue (with trace elements

every THREE MONTHS. Also apply 15 litres of rotted chicken manure.

3.         Increase the above quantities by 109 for every year of growth till the tree is of fruit bearing age at year 4 or year 5 (depending on the growth rate). In addition to the above apply 20 litres of rotted chicken manure, once each year to year 4 or 5.

4.        Bearing tree  (Year 4 or 5 and onwards)  require much more feeding about 500g for every year of growth to say 5kg of NPK Blue for a 10-1:2 year old tree. The timing of fertilizer application for bearing trees is critical. Divide the total amount into thirds. Apply first third at flowering (around September for varieties like Tai So and Bengal) the second third at fruit set (around mid November) and the last lot about 2 weeks before fruit pick (around mid January for Bengal and Tai So)”

Note:

Always water in the fertilizer, Keep fertilizer AWAY from the stem, Fertilize up to and just beyond the drip line.

Too much fertilization can kill a lychee tree.

Critical Hints

1.         Newly planted Lychee trees need protection from hot and cold winds, frost and excessive light in summer. In summer best protected by 50% shade cloth wrapped around 4 stakes erected in a square of one metre apart, also cover the top. In winter replace the shade by transparent plastic material” Protection should be provided for at least two years.

2.         Lychee tree needs extra zinc, boron and copper” Foliar spray with 1 or 2% solution of zinc and copper

sulphate EVERY 2-3 MONTHS and 2% borax spray every 1 TO 2 YEARS.

3.         Foliar spraying with 2% urea solution once at flowering and once at harvest is beneficial for fruiting trees.

4.         Do not allow the tree to produce fruits for the first 3-4 years as it suffers adversely if allowed to. Nip the

flower panicle when they appear.

5.         Swiftly control scale insect infestation, around leaf eating insects (especially on young trees) by the use of

standard pesticide.

6.         Heavy mulching does wonders for lychee trees”

7.         For fruiting trees in Perth suggest not to use too much organics.

8.         Apply handful of ammonium sulphate occasionally, keeps soil ph down.

Mangoes – The King of the Fruits

The most flavour some of all tropical fruits are eaten in larger quantities than any other fruit.

Commercial Orchards are now established from Carnarvon to Kununurra.

Perhaps the best news however is that Mangoes can be grown and fruited very successfully in the Metropolitan area, in suburbs not affected by prolonged frosts. A versatile fruit it can be eaten fresh, frozen, made into jellies, jams chutney, pickles, juice and frozen confectionary.

The Tree

A handsome evergreen bushy tree, Mangoes grow to around 5-6 metres. They provide dense shade. New foliage comes through a bright burgundy colour.

Seedling trees are not recommended with one important exception, because they can take up to 8 years to crop. The exception is Australia’s most popular variety “Kensington Pride” also known as the “Bowen” Mango. Seedling trees of this variety can produce their first crops in 2-4 years. While seedlings of Kensington Pride will produce a fruit true to form, most other seedlings are highly variable. This makes another strong case for planting grafted trees, which are of course clones of desirable varieties. Grafted varieties typically fruit 2-3 years after planting.

Mangoes are self fruitful they don’t need a second tree for pollination. Mature trees will produce between 300 and 700 fruit per season. These crops are concentrated in the months of March and April near Perth. The timing of the crop means that the fruit is susceptible to fruit fly attack so it is important to carry out a simple program using Lebaycid as a cover spray.

Getting your Mango tree to establish around Perth requires a bit of extra care. I recommend a climate shelter consisting of a shade cloth surround and top cover. You can support this by 3 or 4 stakes. I recommend a structure of 1 metre diameter and 2 metres high. When the tree is pushing against this cover its time to remove it and expose the tree to the elements

Longan – Eye of the Dragon

Called Dragon Eyes because of their colour, these round yellow-brown skinned fruits are much appreciated by the Chinese. Cultivated for over 1,000 years, Longan crops later in the summer than its more famous relative, the Lychee. Remove the thin shell like skin and pop the translucent white fruit into your mouth for a real taste treat.

It’s said that Longans are an acquired taste. I acquired the taste after my first fresh fruit. The distinctive musky flavour is quite unlike the Lychee. Sweet juicy aromatic Longans are one of the more exciting fruits of the future for Perth gardens. I see an excellent commercial opportunity also. The demand for Longans from Australia’s Asian population far exceeds supply, even for poorer quality seedling fruits.

Dragon’s Eyes are less demanding in their climatic and soil requirements than Lychees. Able to withstand temperatures of -4C when mature, they actually require a chilling period to achieve a fruit set. A bushy tree to around 5 or 6 metres high with a similar spread, Longan is a heavy producer.

Because of late summer cropping there is a tendency to produce alight crop every second year while the tree builds up foliage and carbohydrates for the heavy crop the following year.

How to grow Longans

Along with many other sup-tropical trees, Longans like sunny north facing locations, rich, well drained soil and wind protection. In Thailand, trees are gradually mounded up with soil to an eventual height of 2 metres to protect the tree from being pushed over by very strong winds. Longans need heavy irrigation from September to December while the fruits are filling out. Mulching the soil with organic material is very beneficial, it provides insulation from rapid changes in temperature and moisture levels.

Varieties

There has been a flood of varieties coming to Australia from China, Taiwan, Thailand, Florida and Hawaii.  Grafted plants derived from these tried and tested varieties will produce earlier and the quality of the fruit is higher.  While grafts are more costly than seedlings, the early extra investment pays off handsomely.  Grafts should produce in their 3^rd or 4^th year – seedlings can take 8 to 10 years.  It is too early to make recommendations about specific named varieties.  Growing trials will need to supply information about local performance.  So I can only suggest choosing a graft or two if you have space and grow your own trial.

Fruit Uses

A delicious fruit to eat fresh, Longan, according to some, is improved by cooking.  It can be bottled and dried.  Canned Longans are available and I believe taste better than tinned Lychee.  To get you into the Dragon Eye Habit, buy a can of Longans and try this unusual salad:

Dragon Eye Salad (for 6 servings)

1 Large can of Longans – drained, ¾ cup cottage cheese, 1/3 to ½ mayonnaise, 1/3 cup Pecan Kernels.

Fill cavities of Longans with Cottage Cheese.  Chill and place on lettuce leaves.  Garnish with mayonnaise and Pecans.

Limes – “The Bartender’s Fruit”

Like lemons, limes are an acid fruit. They tend to be slightly more sensitive to cold and certainly should not be grown in frost prone areas unless some protective measures are taken. Many travellers come back from tropical climes looking to buy a green fruited lime with a strong flavour that they have found in places like Bali and Singapore.

All the limes that grow around the metropolitan area will produce a coloured skin. The West Indian Lime and the Tahitian Lime both are quite bright yellow in maturity and Rangpur is bright orange. The reason for this is that in the tropics there is sufficient cold at night time for the skin to fully colour so even when the limes are fully ripe, the skin is quite green.

Lime trees are principally used to supply sliced fruit and juice for the bar. However the bright acid juice can be used in quite a few dessert recipes as a substitute for lemons.

Lime Varieties

The West Indian Lime is a small tree with very compact dense growth. It has many small thorns and is extremely intolerant to cold conditions. The fruit remains dark green almost black until it is ready to ripen, it will eventually turn a bright yellow colour. The best time to pick the fruit is when it is a dark green but some patches of yellow are starting to come through on the skin. At this stage it is at it’s most acid. The fruit is small in size, very difficult to peel and can have either a few or many seeds depending on the cultivar. The fruit tends to drop after maturity. This is a highly acid aromatic fruit and very juicy as well. Unfortunately because of it’s climate requirements, it is not par­ticularly well suited to Perth, needing every, very warm spot and quite a deal of cold protection during the Winter. A small growing tree, it is ideal for container planting.

The Tahitian Lime is a larger tree growing about the same size as most ‘Eureka’ lemons, the fruit however is only half the size. Once again this should be harvested at the green, just turning to yellow stage. A vigorous, dense foliage tree, it has some thorns but a lot less than the West Indian Lime. The Tahitian Lime has very few to no seeds and holds quite well on the tree. It is a true acid lime in its flavour and very juicy.

Having a long cropping season which lasts some nine months it’s an ideal lime for growing around the metropolitan area where its requirement for heat is a lot less than the West Indian form. A very beautiful ornamental tree producing fragrant blossoms and very juicy bright coloured attractive fruit. Limes should not be consigned to the back yard but considered as an ornamental for planting in the front garden. While it will grow as large as a lemon, they can be contained by planting in a large tub. Limes look great around the pool side or on a sunny patio.

Rangpur is not a true lime, in fact it is more like a sour orange, a miniature one at that. The tree is medium size, spreading with slightly weeping branches. It is a vigorous extremely productive tree with slender twigs and comparatively few thorns. Very cold hardy plant Rangpur grows very well through the metropolitan area. The fruit is small to medium in size, round with a loose skin, the fruit colour is bright reddish-orange and the flesh is orange as well. It is easy to peel, has many seeds and holds for a good time on the tree making it an ornamental plant of some value. The fruit has a tender flesh and is very juicy and extremely acid. Like the other varieties, it makes a great and colourful tub plant.

For the adventurous, here is an Hawaiian recipe involving a lime marinade, which dena­tures the fish virtually cooking it in about six to eight hours.

Hawaiian Coral Fish Salad

750 grams of Snapper Fillets. Juice of three limes (or 3 lemons) 112 teaspoon salt

1 small white onion finely sliced green peppercorns, lime slices for garnishing

Remove skin and bones from fillets and slice into thin strips about 1 centimetre thick and 3 – 4 centimetres long. Place in a glass dish, add onion then cover with lime juice and sprinkle with salt.

Marinate for around 6 – 8 hours (you can leave it overnight in the fridge). This denatures the flesh turning it white as if it were cooked. Pour off lime juice and arrange fish over a fresh salad, garnish with green peppercorns and lime slices. That’s right, you don’t actually cook the fish however it is delicious I can vouch for that!

Kiwi Fruit – Chinese Gooseberry

Tasty, Tangy Kiwi Fruit

Commonly known as the Chinese Gooseberry, Kiwifruit represents the marketing triumph of New Zealand Fruit Growers.

The green flesh of the fruit is very appealing with a flavour that hints of Melon, Strawberry and Banana. When sliced thinly the fruit adds an unusual colour to deserts such as fruit salads. For me it is the ultimate garnish to one of my favourite foods – Pavlova. A versatile fruit, it can be juiced, pureed, dried, eaten fresh and – I’m led to believe – turned into possibly good wine. It also makes an interesting Jam.

As a home garden crop it has the advantages of being very productive, un­attractive to birds and fruit fly, and a quick cover for Pergolas, Garden fences or walls. The fruit stores well, helping to overcome the home garden dilemma of a ‘feast or famine.

How and Where to Grow

Kiwifruits come from vigorous, deciduous vines. As mentioned they can be grown as a cover for pergolas and fences. However, it is important to realize that the structure must be strong. A well grown vine in full foliage and fruit is too weighty for a flimsy support.

Growing Conditions

SOIL – Kiwifruit prefer a rich loam, however, sandy soil can be made into an excellent growing medium with the addition of copious quantities of organic soil addi­tives such as well matured animal manure, peat or spent mushroom compost. The proportion of organic material to sand should be equal.

Commonly known as the Chinese Gooseberry, Kiwifruit represents the marketing triumph of New Zealand Fruit Growers.

The green flesh of the fruit is very appealing with a flavour that hints of Melon, Strawberry and Banana. When sliced thinly the fruit adds an unusual colour to deserts such as fruit salads. For me it is the ultimate garnish to one of my favourite foods – Pavlova. A versatile fruit, it can be juiced, pureed, dried, eaten fresh and – I’m led to believe – turned into possibly good wine. It also makes an interesting Jam.

As a home garden crop it has the advantages of being very productive, un­attractive to birds and fruit fly, and a quick cover for Pergolas, Garden fences or walls. The fruit stores well, helping to overcome the home garden dilemma of a ‘feast or famine’.

Jakfruit

Fruits of this tropical tree are simply enormous. Usually weighing 4 – 10 kilograms particular fruits can come in at 40 kilos. By any measure that one heck of a feast. Fruits are roughly oval in shape and. arise on main trunks and large old stems. The spiney outer skin is cut away to reveal many large seeds, each surrounded by a strongly flavoured cream – yellow fleshy pocket. The aril or seed covering is the edible portion and is surrounded by inedible pith. When ripe the fruits have a distinctive smell reminiscent but nowhere as strong as the famous Durian which goes by the local name – “smells like hell tastes like heaven”. Jakfruit is a delightful treat eaten fresh ­it makes a memorable addition to curries. Unripened fruits are treated more like a vegetable in South East Asia and are boiled. The large seeds can be boiled then roasted and I’ve been told, rival roasted Chestnuts in flavour.

The Tree

A glossy foliage feature tree Jakfruit is a large specimen in its native South East Asia. I believe that our dryer conditions around Perth will limit the growth to around 5 – 10 metres in height.  Jakfruit trees have been planted in groves with spacings of 1 – 1.5 metres. This style of planting is worth looking at even for home gardens. Jakfruit are grown from seed and this always guarantees a range of flavours in the crops of different trees. A small grove of 4 or 5 trees would supply a range of flavours. Grown closely together individual trees would grow tall and thin. Jakfruit trees are tolerant of a wide range of climatic conditions and can be grown successfully in the Perth area and parts North. They do require high humidity during Summer – this can be achieved by covering the soil with a thick mulch up to 12cm (around 5 – 6 inches) deep. Heavy sprinkler irrigation through the warmer months is the other ingredient. Those folks with reticulated gardens will really see their plants shoot away, Jakfruit trees love plenty of moisture.

Feeding

Being gross feeders it is important to keep your trees growing quickly through the summer months. N.P.K. Blue fertilizer is very successful but it is a very strong feeder and needs to be applied sparingly so as to avoid fertilizer burn.

How to beat our cold wet winters

More tropical plants perish through “cold wet feet” than from frosts in Perth. Here’s a simple effective solar heating devise to protect these plants from root problems. All you need is 2 pieces of plastic film and some bricks or rocks. Mulch your trees as mentioned before then cover the soil with a sheet of black plastic film – extend this sheet to cover the area from the trunk to the outer branches. Place bricks or rocks on the sheeting to weigh it down. Then place a sheet of clear plastic film on top weighing it down around the edges. This creates a solar warmth trap, the black plastic draws the heat and the airspace between the two sheets traps the warmth near the rootzone. This solar trap also keeps the roots dry – so you will need to water your trees by hose, probably once a week. Jakfruit is botanically known as Artocarpus Heterophyllus. They are self fertile so one tree alone will fruit successfully.

Jaboticaba – The Brazilian Tree Grape

The Brazilian tree grape is a little known fruit which should prove to be a winner for Perth’s gardeners.  Known as Jaboticaba, the tree is related to the pitanga or Brazilian cherry – its botanical name is Myrciaria caulifora.  Apart from producing a sweet juicy fruit for eating fresh, a delicious highly-popular wine can be fermented from the juice.  These twin uses make Jaboticaba a highly-prized fruit in its native Brazil.

THE FRUIT

Purple-black plum-size fruits cluster directly around the trunk and main branches. Apart from their grape-like appearance, the flavour also is reminiscent of grapes, being sweet with an attractive sub acid tang.

The skin is tougher than grapes and this aids storage and handling. One to four seeds are con­tained in the white gelatinous pulp.  Rather than concentrating its crop in one brief three or four-week period,  Jaboticaba can produce five or six crops a year.

Flowering usually begins in spring and goes through to the onset of cool weather. Fruits can be harvested 20 to 30 days after flowering.  This style of fruiting is ideal for the home gardener, overcoming the “feast or famine” syndrome.  Aboticabas can be successfully frozen fresh or processed into juice or jelly.

Growing to a bushy four to six metres high, the Brazilian tree grape is a handsome compact ornamental tree. Dark green foliage and a pleasing symmetrical crown make it a worthwhile landscape specimen. While intolerant of salt water and spray, the tree can withstand light frosts down to minus 3 C.

The main factor limiting commercial exploration is the slow early growth and the fact that seedling trees take up to 10 years to bear. However, grafted trees are now available in limited quantities and these should produce their first fruits in three to five years from planting. Like many nut-bearing trees,  Jaboticaba needs to be seen as a longer-term investment, with an abundant and delicious payback. Girdling is a method of forcing a mature, but unfruitful tree into cropping.

Take a sharp knife and cut through the bark to the wood in a horizontal ring around the trunk. Then make a second cut two to three centimetres above. Don’t remove the bark between these cuts, as you could ringbark and kill the tree. Best done in late winter, this girding usually shocks the tree into flowering and then fruiting.  Jaboticaba will thrive in most soils which are well drained and don’t have a high water table.

Our sand or loam soils are both ideal if richly improved with organic materials such as Compeat, compost and mature animal manure.  Mulching is beneficial, particularly to aid growth in our hot summer months, and protection from strong winds will encourage growth and improve fruit setting.  Protection from winter cold is recommended for the first two to three years.  Jaboticaba is an ideal birthday tree. Plant it to celebrate the birth of a baby and when he or she is old enough to climb trees there will be a sweet reward halfway up the main trunk.

The Icecream Bean Tree – Inga

The genus Inga is commonly referred to as Ice Cream Bean due to the characteristic white, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth pulp surrounding each seed. Pal­atability varies from species to species. In the humid sub-tropics of northern New South Wales, Inga mor­toniana, of aU the species tried, is both the best adapt­ed and tastiest. The original material on the North Coast was coUected in a highland Central American market-place.( 1).

Other species of Inga on trial (I. spec­tabalis, I. coxil. I. paterno) have all grown strongly, and all make strikingly handsome specimen trees but none have fruited well. Ingas have also been tnalled with success in Sarawak. Ma­laysia. Contral)’ to published data (2) which states that isolated Inga trees do not bear fruit because they are self­ incompatible, all the non-bearing spe­cies I have planted here have partners within pollinating distance, and the original Inga mortoniana tree was on its own when bearing huge crops. Bear­ing commenced at three years with hun­dreds of 7-20cm golden yellow pods by five years.

Nitrogen Fixing

The most outstanding feature of Inga mortoniana is the massive production of nitrogen fixing nodules. I have never witnessed such massive numbers of nodules on any other legume. Last year, digging four metres away from the nearest Inga, I found that the roots were heavily laced with nodules like strung pearls on all available root surfaces. This feature combined with the ease of growing in the nursery and establish­ment in the field make this species ex­tremely useful for soil rejuvenation. With that aim in mind, I planted over 400 trees in a paddock which I have in­terplanted with a range of other species. This, their fourth year, found me for the first time going at them with the chain­saw lopping branches and letting them lie as trash as I try to recreate the forest floor in as short a time as my low maintenance program will allow.

Intriguingly, seeds are polyembryon­ic, which is weird and unexpected in a pioneer species where one would ex­pect the opposite. To whit: great varia­tion in the gene pool to maximise adap­tation to various sites. With excellent coppicing ability, these trees can be continually cut back. If at any time the trees need to be removed, chainsawing at ground level and repeated slashing will kill them as their underground parts rot to the total restoration of soil health. Trees are readily propagated by directly sowing seed into 150 mm pots and they are ready for field planting in a year. All my trees have been estab­lished from 150 mm pots.

Pests

Inga mortoniana is the only species to ever have mites in the field here, but this was only on a couple of trees; it went untreated and disappeared. The biggest pest problem is a seed borer that can damage up to 90% of the pods, ren­dering them unsuitable for sale but not for consumption as only part of the pod is riddled.

Adaptability and Value

This species has proven adaptable to all sites from constantly moist to dl)’, heavy soils to light soils, and is hardy to at least -3C. I even planted 60 trees 400 mm apart on good quality basalt soil. After three years trees were an effective windbreak four metres high and fruit­ing! The new growth is an attractive reddish-bronze and the white flowers pretty. All Inga species have amazingly shaped pinnate leaves. Traditionally some Inga species (I. vera) have been used as shade and support trees (coffee, vanilla, pepper) in plantations. Most In­gas have valuable timber properties; judging by the density of Inga mortoni­ana wood at such an early age, this is a particularly valuable species. The only limitation is strong tendency to branch. Ingas are also good fodder and street trees.

This species is naturalising and over time could prove to be competitive with Australian pioneers such as Acacia melanoxylon. Even with that possibility, this is an outstanding multi-purpose tree.

Grumichama – Eugenia dombeyi

Grumichama is another member of the myrtle family from South America that includes the pitanga, jaboticaba and feijoa. Other mem­bers of this adaptable family closer to home include the eucalyptus and the lilly pilly.

Botanically known as Eugenia dombeyi, the grumichama is a highly-ornamental small tree with a delicious purple-black fruit.  It is widely recommended for many subtropical areas because it is easy to grow and produces abundant quantities of good fruit.

Crimson to purple-black fruits appear four weeks after the pretty white flowers. About the diameter of a dollar coin, the fruits have a thin skin and white melting flesh.  The pleasant flavour makes grumichama worth eating fresh off the tree. It also can be stewed and used for jam, jelly and in fruit cakes.

Like the jaboticaba (tree grape), grumichama is a slow-growing compact small tree. A mature height of four to five metres can be expected. It makes an excellent hedge plant and is worth considering for tub planting.

Its big, handsome leathery leaves are dark glossy-green. New foliage has a purple-red colour which adds an attractive highlight in the early summer months.

Most Eugenias are fairly cold hardy. When the grumichama is mature it can withstand temperatures down to minus 2C. I have seen young plants in pots breeze through this winter under shadecloth with no apparent distress.

This robustness in the face of one of our most severe winters gives me con­fidence that grumichama will prove to be a very successful introduction to Perth gardens.

While our sandy soils are very free draining, they need substantial bolster­ing with organic materials to provide a successful springboard for growth. I recommend two parts organic material such as Compeat, Groganic or mature cow or chicken manure to one part original soil.

During summer, grumichama appreciates ample watering and a humid atmosphere. Increased humidity can be achieved by heavy mulching and by positioning sprinklers either in the canopy of foliage or above the tree.This sort of extra care may sound a “bit much”, but I would recommend no less for a lemon tree in order to achieve good results.  Like a lemon, your grumichama will perform under a lesser regime, but will fall short of achieving it’s potential.

Under favourable conditions you can look forward to enjoying grumichama coffee cake or grumichama liqueur in about three years from planting.  Long before you enjoy the fruit, however, you are sure to appreciate the good looks of this charmer from Brazil.

Gotu Kola – “The Miracle Plant”

Former arthritis sufferers are claiming that this common garden plant has taken all their painfful symptoms away.

The herb, Gotu Kola, also known as swamp pennywort, and Indian ginseng, grows in swampy areas from North Queensland to South Western Australia.

Gotu Kola belongs to the botanical family Umbelliferae which also includes Carrots, Parsley ~ Celery, Fennel and Angelica.

The plant has very minute flowers on a 1cm stalk. The fruits of Gotu Kola are flattened discs, 3mm in diameter and occur in upright groups of three “looking like toast in a rack”. It is the leaves however which are the most beneficial.

There are two species which exist in Australia, Centella Asiatica, also called Hydrocotyle Asiatica, and Centella Cordifolia.

Centella Cordifolia has a circular, heart shaped leaf which is toothed around the edge. Centella Asiatica has a more kidney shaped leaf. The leaf sizes can vary from 1cm to 7cm, in more favourable areas. Both the Cordifolia and Asiatica are very similar in their appearance, growing habit, and medicinal value !!

Growing Needs

Preferring a semi-shade position in moist, fertile soil, Gotu Kola can be grown successfully in garden beds, tubs and patio hanging baskets.

In order to be able to harvest two leaves a day, it will be necessary to allow at least a month for the plant to establish itself.

To ensure a bountiful supply, a weekly feed with a liquid fertilizer such as phostrogen, is recommended. Snails are found to have a passion for Gotu Kola so it will be necessary to apply snail pellets, or to generously spread· sawdust around the plant.

Using Gotu Kola

The recommended dosage is two leaves a day, these can be eaten whole or added to stirfry dishes, rice and salads. An infusion of the leaf can be beneficial as a wash on burns and wounds.

Consumers have claimed that within three months of eating two leaves a day, arthritis has been cured.

It is not advisable for people suffering from cardiovascular disorders, peptide ulcers or hypertension to take Gotu Kola, nor is it advisable for anyone to exceed more than two leaves a day, as severe headaches and dizziness will result.

Biochemical analysis has found its active constituents to include asiaticoside, thunkinside, madecassic acid, and brahmoside.

It has been found to have anti-bacterial activity; anti-fungal; anit-amaebic; anti-ulcer effects on gastric and duodenal ulcers; anti-inflammatory effects externally; mild sedative effects; and anti-spasmodic effects.

Beneficial effects have been found in the treatment of wounds, burns and ulcers, using an infusion of Gotu Kola leaves, Results of this treatment have been accelerated tissue regeneration and reduced scarring.

Gotu Kola has been used medically in Asia for thousands of years for fever; rheumatism; gastric complaints; leprosy; ageing; nervous breakdown; depression; and longevity.

Is it any wonder it’s called “the elixir of life” in eastern countries.

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