Tamarillo

Solanum betaceum (syn. Cyphomandra betacea) is a small tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Solanaceae. It is best known as the species that bears the tamarillo, an egg-shaped edible fruit. Other names include tree tomato and tomate de árbol.

The name “tamarillo” is a commercial name coined in New Zealand in 1967. Parts used Ripe fruits. Cultivation & harvesting The plant is easily propagated from seeds and requires cool but frost-free conditions. It is very productive (20 kg per tree, more than 15 tons per hectare) and may bear fruit all year round. Fruits are hand-picked and can be stored for up to 10 weeks. Uses & properties The attractive fruits are eaten fresh – often cut in half and the flesh scooped out. Some people find the taste a little too acidic, but modern cultivars have sweeter fruits.

The New Zealanders, who are the major commercial growers of this fruit, decided to market what was formetly known as the ttee tomato as the “tamarillo,” and the name stuck. General Information Indigenous to Peru, the tamarillo is a tropical fruit related to the tomato. It must have been catried at an early date to East Africa, Asia, and the East Indies, as it is well established in those tegions. It was introduced into New Zealand in 1891, where commercial growing on a small scale began about 1920.

Health Benefits of Tamarillo

A good source of vitamins A and C and is low in calories. As a member of the nightshade family, it contains the toxic alkaloid solanine. Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Also Known As: Indian Date Tamarindus comes from the Arabic tamr-hindi, meaning “Indian date.” Indica means “native to or introduced from India.” General Information The tamarind ttee is a massive, slow-growing, ornamental leguminous tree native to tropical East Africa. Known as “dates” because of their sticky, fibrous appearance, the fruits are flatfish and beanlike.