Gardening with Tropical Fruit

The Ambarella (Otaheite-apple)

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

The Ambarella (Spondias cythrea) is a fast growing medium to large tree that often reaches heights in excess of 40 feet. Native to the Society Islands it is found in most tropical regions and is a common fruit in many tropical market places.

Trees have large compound leaves which are shed during the cool winter months for a brief period. The shiny green leaves though are quite attractive and the trees can be easily propagated by seeds, but more easily by cuttings of almost any length.

The fruit is oval and sometimes between the size of a chicken egg and a small tangerine. At maturity the tough skin is orange to yellow-orange in color with a sweet to acid juicy flesh surrounding a large single spiny seed. The fruits are commonly eaten fresh or used in preserves and sauces and in many cultures the fruit is eaten green rather than let grow to full maturity.

Flower season in Florida is usually March and April with clusters of tiny whitish flowers in terminal tentacles at the end of the branches. Trees can grow as much as 8 or 9 feet in a single growing season and because of this it is considered a soft wood tree and is easily broken up by high winds.

Trees are sensitive to cold weather and freeze at about 30 degrees, but usually come back from the larger trunks and branches. For best growth and production plant in full sun or light shade and fertilize about once every 4 months with a complete balanced fertilizer. If close to coastal areas where salt spray is a problem, protect these from direct salt exposure since the salt tolerance is poor.

There are no serious pests of this tree, however, fruit fly is common in many of the maturing fruits. There are no named varieties of ambarella, but there are quite a few differences in fruit size and ones with larger sized fruit should be propagated by cuttings or air layering.

This fruit is considered one of the best tasting of all the spondias and if you don’t have room for a big tree there is also a dwarf ambarella which stops growing at about 7 to 8 feet in height and produces large clusters of inch and a half fruit throughout much of the year rather than the winter season like the large fruited forms.