Tag: Plant Profile

One of the citrus varieties in the mix, and it just does its job, reliably. The Basics Navel orange, Citrus sinensis, is a citrus tree in the family Rutaceae. Origin and Habitat Sweet oranges originated in Asia, and the navel mutation itself traces back to a single tree found in Brazil in the 1800s, later…

Planted this one during a full day of harvesting cinnamon and turmeric for the first time, somebody’s birthday going on at the same time. The Basics Mulberry, Morus species, is a fast-growing tree in the family Moraceae. Origin and Habitat Different mulberry species are native across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and the tree has…

There was a mountain apple tree in the backyard of the house I grew up in, so this one’s personal. The Basics Mountain apple, ʻohiʻa ʻai in Hawaiian, Syzygium malaccense, is a tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, the same family as our Surinam cherry. Origin and Habitat Native to Southeast Asia and the Malay…

Basically every cacao growing region on earth has monkeypod trees somewhere in it. The Basics Monkeypod, Samanea saman, is a massive shade tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Origin and Habitat Native to Central and South America, now naturalized across the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and even Madagascar — genuinely pantropical at this point.…

Calamansi taught me a real lesson about seed grown versus grafted trees, one I probably should have already known, and unfortunately it wasn’t done teaching it to me yet. The Basics Calamansi, a small, tart hybrid citrus, is a staple in Filipino cooking and one of the most useful mini citrus you can grow. Origin…

This tree went in on what might have been the single strangest day of the entire project, which feels appropriate since it’s a pretty strange tree itself. The Basics Candle tree, also called guajilote, is a small ornamental tree that flowers directly on its trunk, similar to durian and cacao. Origin and Habitat Native to…

Cashew is one of those everyday foods that turns out to have a much darker supply chain than most people, myself included until I looked into it, ever think about. The Basics Cashew, Anacardium occidentale, is native to northeastern Brazil, though the vast majority of the roughly 4 million tonnes the world eats each year…

Cempedak earned a permanent spot on my top ten favorite fruits list the very first time I tried it, onion smell and all. The Basics Cempedak, Artocarpus integer, is closely related to jackfruit and breadfruit, part of the same Artocarpus family we’ve been steadily working through, alongside breadnut. Origin and Habitat Native to Southeast Asia,…

Planted this one on the autumn equinox, which also happened to be day 265 of planting something every single day, a milestone that snuck up on me. The Basics Cherimoya, Annona cherimola, is a relative of soursop and custard apple, prized as one of the best tasting fruits in that family. Origin and Habitat Despite…

Not every tree here has an adventure attached to it, and this ornamental cherry is one of the quieter additions to the food forest. The Basics This is a Korean ornamental cherry, a Prunus cultivar grown for its flowers rather than for any fruit worth eating. Origin and Habitat Ornamental cherries in this group generally…