Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top 10 Fruits
!
Guanábana
Also called soursop, this
fruit makes a slightly sour,
creamy drink when juiced.
@
Papaya
This tear-shaped fruit has
delicious yellow flesh. Its seeds
are used as a folk remedy for
intestinal parasites.
£
Mamey
A sprig of orchids
A melon-like fruit with
a yam-like flavor, mamey is
mainly used for ice creams
and
batidas
(milkshakes).
&
Orchids
Puerto Rico boasts hundreds
of species of orchids, including
many endemics. These plants
are renowned for their exquisite
flowers, and many wild orchid
species are endangered by illegal
collecting. The San Juan Orchid
Society holds a Festival de
Orquideas each March.
d
San
Juan Orchid Society • 787 758 9981
$
Custard Apple
The moderately sweet
flesh of this fruit is used to
make a popular drink with
medicinal properties.
%
Guayava
This small fruit has slightly
acidic flesh and many small,
hard seeds. It is commonly
used in jellies or as a dessert
with cheese.
^
Ta m a r i n d
*
Gumbo-Limbos
A hardy species with huge
branches, gumbo-limbos are also
known as “naked Indian trees”-
their reddish-brown, paper-thin
bark peels off in sheets like
sunburnt skin. These trees
readily sprout from branches
stuck into the ground.
(
Ceibas
This tree's pendulous fruit
is too tart to eat. The pulp is
often used to make juice.
&
Passion Fruit
This golf-ball sized fruit is
known as
parcha
- its yellow
flesh is tart and makes a
delicious topping for desserts.
*
Banana
Sacred to the Taíno, silk-
cotton trees grow to 230 ft (70 m)
and have straight, branchless
trunks studded with spines.
Buttress roots help to stabilize
these massive trees, the branches
of which form wide canopies.
)
Epiphytes
Known worldwide, this
curved fruit with yellow skin
has cream-colored flesh
loaded with vitamins, making
for a healthy snack.
(
Breadfruit
This fruit can grow as
large as a basketball. Its
flesh is cooked and mashed,
often with coconut milk.
)
Mango
These plants take root on
the branches of other trees.
Many species, such as Spanish
moss, put down hanging roots,
while some, like bromeliads,
gather water in cisterns formed
by tightly overlapping leaves.
Mangoes have highly
fragrant, pulpy, and slightly
fibrous flesh that is deliciously
sweet and juicy.
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