#florida sunset
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
Harvested our first jackfruit of the season! I was always worried that I wouldn’t know when it was ready, but the smell of the fruit was the giveaway - a sweet, fruity aroma filled the back yard. They are not small fruits, ours weighed in at a whopping 28.6 pounds.
Got out my tools (bread knife, steak knife, bowls, and gloves), and spread out on the kitchen floor. It felt like I was cutting a basketball in half. The outside gave when pushed on, but was not soft or mushy. The internal part of the stem ran the length of the fruit, and had the texture like a tough mushroom. The remaining parts of the fruit are a series of rubber band like fibers, the edible pods, and the seeds.
After making a series of cuts, I was able to pry the halves apart. But by this time the rubber gloves had torn, so I just dug into the latex filled mess with my bare hands. Once I figured out the pattern in which the pods were arranged, it became a much quicker process. However, the fibers were dense, and seemed to be trying to protect the pods from my eager fingers. In all, I filled 2 big freezer bags with fruit: 1 for eating fresh, the other to freeze for use later.
What was left, was a shell of what I had started with; shredded and only a fraction of the weight. A prime example of why jackfruit is being used as a pulled pork substitute.
Last year, after we ended up with so many seeds, we searched online for a use for them. They can be cooked in many ways, of which we prefer boiling. Once done they have the consistency of a potato, with a nutty flavor.
The edible pods are actually petals, hundreds which form internally. You either love jackfruit or hate it. The texture is strange - crisp yet chewy. Said to smell and taste like Juicy Fruit gum.
Total time: 2 hours
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Root beer plant (Piper auritum)
This big floppy plant is said to resemble the taste of root beer - or others say a more anise/clover concoction. Nonetheless, it is a very useful plant in the tropics.
The leaves are used as wrappings for meats and tamales, and an essential ingredient in making mole verde (a Mexican dish).
Its leaves can get as big as 1 foot in diameter, and the flowers can be seen in the pictures above - a single white spadix.
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Powder puff tree (Calliandra haematocephala) with thorn bugs (Umbonia crassicornis)
I was taken aback - a powder puff tree with thorns?? It was only upon further inspection, that I noticed the thorns MOVED!
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Buttercup bush (Turnera subulata)
Bountiful blossoms adorn this bush, which does well in warm climates (USDA zones 9-11). Where there are blooms, there are butterflies, bees, and other pollinators abound. With a yellow and black bulls eye like that, no wonder they find it irresistible!
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Cannon ball tree (Couroupita guianensis)
Through all my travels, and people’s private plant collections, this tree was a delightful discovery today.
The soft colorful flowers hang on vine-like pendulums - hundreds per tree. The fruit, by which it gets its common name, are the size but only a fraction of the weight of a real cannon ball. Despite the lack of weight, a dropped fruit from the height of the tree would still pack a punch.
Fruits are edible, but due to its putrid smell, highly unlikely that anyone would dare try it. They are however eaten by javelina.
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Water lilies on a cloudy day
Today what stood out wasn’t the beauty of the water lily, but the contrast of its leaf patterns on the water, and reflections from the sky above.
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Jamaican Croton (Graptophyllum pictum)
After having this bush planted by the front entry for several years - only now have I realized how well it compliments the colors of the house and front door.
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The Golden Hour. Amazing Summertime Sunset Drone Footage Flying At The Beach. Drone Beach Sunset.
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