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Tropical fruits

Fruits market in Thailand
Fruits market in Thailand

This is the starting page for many tropical fruits. But what is a fruit? And what makes it tropical?

What do we mean by the term ‘fruit’?

The term fruit can have different meanings. In botanical biology a fruit is the ripened ovary of a flowering plant, which contains the seeds. Plants use fruits to disseminate their seeds. But when we talk about fruits as food, we limit ourselves to those fruits that are sweet and fleshy. Mango, apple, cherries, and oranges are always considered fruits, they are botanically fruits, but at the same time they are also culinary fruits. But beans and cucumbers are fruits only in a botanical sense; as food we call them vegetables and not fruits. But the difference between vegetables and fruits is sometimes also rather confusing: some fruits, such as tomato and avocado, can be considered a culinary fruit but they are at the same time eaten as a vegetable.

What makes a fruit tropical?

Strictly speaking the word tropical refers to the tropics, which is the area of earth centered on the equator and limited in the North by the Tropic of Cancer and in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn. This tropical zone stretches from 23.4 º North latitude to 23.4 º South latitude. I have divided my website in a part with ‘tropical fruits’ and a part with ‘other fruits’. Tropical fruits are those that have their origin in the tropics and require a rather tropical or subtropical climate; they don't tolerate frost. Other fruits are the rest, which usually grow in more temperate climates. The distinction is not very accurate. Some tropical fruits are also grown in warmer areas outside the tropics, while many of the temperate fruits can also be found in the tropics, especially in cooler mountain or hill areas.

There are hundreds of edible tropical fruits. Some of these are well-known and are exported all around the world. Others are only known and appreciated locally. For each fruit there is a separate page with an introduction, some basic information, a number of photos, and sometimes one or more recipes (fruit salads and other culinary experiments). Most fruits on my website are culinary fruits, but also some others (e.g. coffee) have been included in the list.

As most of the fruits are not related to each other, they are presented here below in a random order.
Follow the links or click on the photographs below to learn more about these tropical fruits.

Mango
Mango
Pineapple
Pineapple
Mangosteen
Mangosteen
Lychee
Lychee
Durian
Durian
Jackfruit
Jackfruit
Coconut
Coconut
Longan
Longan
Rambutan
Rambutan
Tamarind
Tamarind
Banana
Banana
Guava
Guava
Maprang
Maprang
Papaya
Papaya
Tangerine
Tangerine
Pomelo
Pomelo
Longkong
Longkong
Rose apple
Rose apple
Dragonfruit
Dragonfruit
Mafai
Mafai
Watermelon
Watermelon
Avocado
Avocado
Star apple
Star apple
Jujube
Jujube
Pomegranate
Pomegranate
Starfruit (Carambola)
Star fruit
Passionfruit
Passion fruit
Sugar apple
Sugar apple
Coffee
Coffee
Breadfruit
Breadfruit
Santol
Santol
Sapodilla
Sapodilla
Bael
Bael
Soursop
Soursop
Asian palmyra palm
Asian Palmyra Palm
Velvet apple
Velvet apple
Roselle
Roselle
Orange
Oranges
Canistel
Canistel
Date
Date
Custard apple
Custard apple
Grapefruit
Grapefruit

How do you eat these tropical fruits? If you have a special recipe you would like to share with me, please send me a message. Or perhaps you know interesting proverbs about some of these fruits?

Remember to eat more fruits because they are an important source of vitamins and minerals and form part of a healthy diet.

Note: All these tropical fruits and many other crops can now also be found in the World Crops Database.

4 thoughts on “Tropical fruits”

  1. mehdi majidi. from iran

    hello. it was so great. but not complete. some famous fruits were not mentioned. for example: fig. if data palm is a subtropical fruit, fig is too. thanks

    1. Not any, because some pictures are not mine. Please use the contact form and let me know which one and tell me for what purpose.

Comments are closed.