Tamarind Tree at Harbour Club Villas

A glorious sight.........Harbour Club's tamarind tree in full bloom.

The Tamarind tree apparently was brought to the Caribbean from Africa in the early seventeenth century. Our tree is relatively small at about 18 feet but makes for easy gathering of the fruits. It was originally given to us as a two foot tall plant and has been growing ever since. I never even knew what it was until we started giving the fruit away. I was shown how to crack the shell and OMG …….. a childhood remembrance of that taste overwhelmed me. WOW, it had to have been either in St. Vincent or Malaysia. We were little children enjoying the sweet-sour pucker your mouth taste.

Tamarind branches loaded down with tamarind fruits

 

Tamarinds hanging from the tree and flowers.

 

The tamarind has beautiful and delicate orchid like flowers.

Tamarind flowers look somewhat  like orchids, are mainly yellow and elongated with orange or red streaks. The buds are pink and these pink sepals are lost when the flower blooms.

The pretty yellow and orangey-red flowers of the tamarind tree.

Mature tamarinds have brittle shells and when you apply gentle pressure, the shell will crack to expose a brownish fruit.

The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste and is high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and oddly enough for a fruit, calcium. Young tamarind fruits have hard green pulp that is often too sour to eat but these fruits are often used as a component of savory dishes. As tamarinds mature, the flesh pulp turns brown to reddish-brown. The skin turns hard and forms into a brown shell that is brittle. The ripe fruit look like a beanlike pod with bulging areas and a slight curve. Inside is a soft pulp around hard seeds. A few strands of fiber extend from the stalk around the pulp covered seeds.

Crack the outer shell of the tamarind to expose the brown pulp surrounding an inner seed.

Take a ripe tamarind, crack the shell and peel back the pieces. You will see a few fibers extending from the stalk that help to hold everything together. The fruit has multiple small bulges and each bulge is a seed. Bite down just after the first seed and pull away. A taste sensation will fill your mouth as you suck and scrape the pulp off the seed with your teeth and spit the seed out. Oh so sour but with lots of sweetness too!!

The seeds of the tamarind are somewhat flattened, and a beautiful glossy brown......would be lovely for jewellery!

Tamarinds can be eaten at different stages with the mature fruit being used to make jam, juice, candies, desserts, ice-cream and it is often used in dishes as a seasoning. I have made a delicious chutney from fresh tamarinds and mangoes to go with my curry. I have tasted a delicious tamarind drink made in a similar way to lemonade; fruit/juice, sugar and water. Some recipes include cinnamon and other spices. The wood of the tamarind tree is sometimes used to make furniture and wood flooring. The seeds are used to produce pectin for use in the manufacture of jams and jellies and sometimes the leaves and fruits are used for various medical applications, dying of clothing and other processes and for cleaning silver and copper.

 

Flowers and fruit blossoming and fruiting all at once.

 

A bananaquit preens in the shade of our tamarind tree.

Well, I’m thinking it’s time for a cold drink………………maybe I’ll just pick some tamarinds and get busy making some juice!

 

Marta

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

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Papaya or Paw Paw

Papaya trees come in one of three sexual forms: male, female and hermaphrodite and the photo above is of a male flowering papaya.

Papaya trees come in one of three sexual forms: male, female and hermaphrodite and the photo above is of a male flowering papaya.

The Papaya tree or Paw Paw is found growing wild throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands and we have several here at Harbour Club. Presently, Barry and I are juicing these wild papayas almost every day as we have so many that are ready to eat right now.

Male flowers are formed in clusters and grow on a branched drooping stalk

Male flowers are formed in clusters and grow on a branched drooping stalk

Male Papaya flowers have no ovaries and therefore do not produce any fruit. Female flowers have an ovary and are borne on the stem of the plant where the leaf is attached.

Beautiful yellow flowers of the female gender have five petals and are rather waxy looking.

Beautiful yellow flowers of the female gender have five petals and are rather waxy looking.

Some papaya bear only short stalked female flowers while others bear male clusters of flowers and pollination is done by the wind.

The bright yellow petals start to wilt and turn brown as the fruit starts growing

The bright yellow petals start to wilt and turn brown as the fruit starts growing

A small papaya fruit appears and starts to grow

A small papaya fruit appears and starts to grow

The ovary of a female Papaya plant must receive pollen from either a male or hermaphrodite plant before it can be fertilized and produce a fruit bearing viable seeds. Insects and or the wind will carry the pollen.

A small baby papaya starts to grow as the yellow petals die off.

A small baby papaya starts to grow as the yellow petals die off.

Harbour Club's papaya trees are loaded with small fruits ready to be picked.

Harbour Club's papaya trees are loaded with small fruits ready to be picked.

Papaya trees can grow from 6 to 20 feet tall and have a head of foliage much like a palm tree up at the top. The trunk is soft wooded, never developes a bark and is ringed with scars from previous leaf stems that have dropped off.

Tall papaya trees reaching to the skies laden with fruits

Tall papaya trees reaching to the skies laden with fruits

Wild papaya fruits aren’t really that large but they are favoured by the birds so long as Barry doesn’t get to them first. They are delicious served up as a smoothie or eaten with lots of fresh lime juice.

If you throw out these seeds they'll be sure to grow more trees.

If you throw out these seeds they'll be sure to grow more trees.

Papain from the papaya is used by the locals and applied topically for the treatment of cuts, rashes, stings and burns. It is said that Christopher Columbus named the papaya or paw–paw, ‘the fruit of the angels’. Try some papaya with fresh lime juice for a tasty treat…….it is ripe and soft and has a sweet and delightfully vibrant orange flesh much like the consistency of a peach.

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Sapodilla

Sapodilla fruit and flowers locally known as the "dilly" tree

Sapodilla fruit and flowers locally known as the "dilly" tree

I just thought you might like to know what a Sapodilla is…………this tropical tree is called a “dilly” locally and grows here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The fruits are favoured by our island iguanas and the taste is sweet and pleasant, ranging from a pear flavor to crunchy brown sugar.

The flowers of the Sapodilla are quite beautiful and I hadn't noticed this until I went out to take photos.

The flowers of the Sapodilla are quite beautiful and I hadn't noticed this until I went out to take photos.

The bark of the Sapodilla tree produces Chicle which is a latex that has been used for many years as a chewing gum base .
Marta

Turk’s Head Cactus

This Turk's Head Cactus with both flowers and pink fruit grows wild in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

This Turk's Head Cactus with both flowers and pink fruit grows wild in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Turk’s Head Cactus is one of the national emblems of the Turks and Caicos Islands where it loves the dry climate and thrives in exposed areas. It is named after the distinctive reddish cap that sits on top of the green cactus and looks like a Turkish fez (cap).

Turk's Head Cactus blooms throughout the year in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Turk's Head Cactus blooms throughout the year in the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turk’s Head Cactus produces small spikey looking pink flowers and as they die, they form the fruit which grows inside the white spongey cap. The rosey pink fruit contains the seeds and are much loved by our lizards and birds, iguanas too.  The locals also will eat them as they apparently are sweet and juicy. I haven’t tasted one yet but will do so one of these days.

Turk's Head Cactus with pretty pink flowers
Turk’s Head Cactus with pretty pink flowers

I’ve had some success in growing Turk’s Head Cactus and have lots started

at Harbour Club Villas. They take forever to grow though!!!!
Cheers,
Marta