Hi all,
I've got this weird fruit that I found in the Menlo Park, CA, area. I found it on some tree growing and ate some of them, people told me they were harmless (but don't know what the name is). They're fairly small, have a semi-hard spiky outside that one can bite through to get to the soft, sweet, yellow inner flesh. Any ideas? I've attached some pictures. Sorry the one with the bowl is discolored.
Pics:
Lychee nuts, I think. Normally native to Asia, but also found in Mexico. Don't know how they got up to your area.
Sherwin
That was my first impression. However, it is not a lychee (the skin doesn't separate from the inner fruit, and there is no hard nut). Also, the taste is very different from that of a lychee and the inner flesh is textured more like that of an overripe peach. The color is yellow, also like a peach, unlike the white lychee.
Any thoughts?
They look something like Ugli fruit, a citric fruit from Jamaica.
Freckles
I don't think so:
They look like Strawberry Tree, Arbutus unedo. Taste is quite variable: some are pretty good, others are bland and tasteless.
Emilie NorCal
Arbutus Unedo, Irish Strawberry Tree.
JB
I think I've got one down in Long Beach, CA 90807, didn't know the fruit was edible! BTW, my tree is apparently huge for the type, must be 30 feet by 30 feet. Not sure how old it is, probably 20+ years.
J.
Indeed, it is the Arbutus Unedo. Thanks to mleblanca and Golden One for solving the case!
They regularly grow 5 - 10 metres and rarely up to 15 metres. The trees that I have seen were large mature trees, lining the driveway of a heritage listed old farm in Albany, Western Australia. At a guess they are probably +100 years old.
JB
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