History of star fruit (carambola)

The center of origin of star fruit is not clear: Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia are considered the most likely places of origin.   It is an alternative name for the carambola. It is first recorded in 1974.

It is a fruit of Averrhoa carambola. The genus name Averrhoa is after Averroes an Arabian physician. It has been cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for hundreds of years.

There are other names including five corners, five fingers and numerous non-English names. The name carambola is said to have come from Malabar which the Portuguese adopted it at very early times.

One of the interesting non-English names come from the Philippines where it is called ‘balembing’ or ‘belimbing’, which is an idiom used to describe politicians who seems to have having multiple faces.

In India it is called as Kamrakh and its reference in early written accounts and Sanskrit name ‘Karmar’ indicates the presence of carambola in India much before the arrival of Europeans to India.

The Dutch traveler Linschoten first brought the news of the existence of this fruit to the Western world in 1598, describing it as a kind of sour apple with ribs.

The crop was probably introduced to Hawaii sometime after 1789 and to Australia at the end of the 19th century.
The fruit was appeared in the American continent to date from the end of the 18th century and it was known to be growing in the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro in 1856. The star fruit was introduced to southern Florida in 1887.

The major production areas in the world are the tropical and subtropical regions in East Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Kuangsi and Hainan in southern China.
History of star fruit (carambola)

The origin of banana

The original banana has been cultivated and used since ancient times, even pre-dating the cultivation of rice.

The earliest reference to banana dates back to about 500 BC. Some horticulturists suspect that banana was the earth’s first fruit.

Nevertheless, the origin of bananas is traced back to Southeast Asia in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia or Philippines.

Bananas may have been taken from this area across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar about AD 500 and therefore into East Africa, Zaire and West Africa.

Musa accuminata is a native of the Malay Peninsula and adjacent regions whole Musa balbisiana is found in India eastwards to the tropical Pacific.

Both bananas and plantains were known on the west coast of Africa in the 14-15th century when the Portuguese arrived.

In 1000 AD, banana was distributed throughout Polynesia and introduction to Mediterranean areas during Arab expansion.

The first scientific term given to banana is Musa paradisiaca Linn., published in 1753 by Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum, the origin of modern botanical nomenclature.

The name Musa adopted by Linnaeus for the entire genius may have been derived from Antonius Musa (63-14 BC) who was physician to the first Roman Emperor, Octavius Augustus.
The origin of banana

Mangosteen of Southeast Asia

The mangosteen (botanically name Garcinia mangostana L.) is a type of fruit unfamiliar in the United States but highly prized in many other parts of the world.

It was described as Mangostana Garcinia by Gaetner in 1790, but Linnaeus description of the genus Garcinia meant that the valid taxonomic name is Garcinia magostana L.

Believed to have originated in Southeast Asian origin, the Sundaes Islands and the Moluccas, the mangosteen is widely cultivated in the tropics.

The latest study by A.J Richards on the origin of mangosteen indicated that Peninsular Malaysia was probably the area of origin due to original parent having possibly arisen as a hybrid G. hombroniana and G malleccensis.

Often referred to as the queen of fruits, eating mangosteen is believed to have a ‘cooling’ effect, thought to counteract the ‘heatiness’ of the king of fruit, the durian.

Mangosteen is known as mangostanier in French, mangostan in Spanish, mangostao in Portuguese and mangostane in German.

It was introduced into Sri Lanka about 1800 and thrives there in moist regions. It was first cultivated in India during the eighteenth century and between 1880 and 1890 plantings were made at the Kallar and Buliar stations in Madras State.

Historically, the mangosteen has been used for centuries in Asian countries as a traditional remedy for many health problems. Today, its use continues in developed and undeveloped nations as both a delicacy and a medicine.
Mangosteen of South East Asia

History of Palm Oil

History of Palm Oil
The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a native of West Africa. It is also found in Central and East Africa and Madagascar in isolated localities with a suitable rainfall. It has been traded overland, since archeological evidence indicates that palm oil was most likely available in ancient Egypt.

The British Industrial revolution created a demand for palm oil for candle making and as lubricant for machinery. In the early nineteenth century, West African farmers began supply a modest export trade, as well as producing palm oil for their own food needs. After 1900, European-run plantations were established in Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and the world trade in palm oil continued to grow steadily, reaching a level of 250,000 tones (metric tons) per annum by 1930.

The oil palm was first introduced to Southeast Asia in 1848, when four seedlings from West Africa, were planted in the botanical gardens in Java. One Belgian Engineer noticed that palms grew here more quickly and bore a richer fruit that counterpart in the Congo. This help the palm oil industry grow quickly in Sumatra and Malaya. This rapid expansion came not only because of growing confidence in oil palm but also because of the grave postwar problems of the rubber industry.

The invention of the hydrogenation process for oils and fats in 1902 created the possibility of Western employment of palm products as, for example, in the making of margarine. Yet hydrogenation was more useful for liquid oils like groundnut, palm kernel, and coconut oils than form palm oil.
History of Palm Oil

The Origin of Mangosteen

In South East Asia the fruit is known as Fruit of God because of health benefits and delicious taste of fruits.

The place of origin of the mangosteen is unknown but is believed to be in Malay Archipelago or the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.

Mangosteen is native to Malaysia. The wild species of mangosteen are found in Malaysia and India. Mangosteen is derived from G. silvestris Boerl, a species also found growing in both countries.

However, there was also a study that indicated that Peninsular Malaysia was probably the area of origin due to original parent having possibly arisen as and hybrid G. hombroniana and G malleccensis.

There was a suggestion that the tree may have been first domesticated was done in Thailand and Burma. It is much cultivated in Thailand–where there were 9,700 acres (4,000 ha) in 1965–also in Kampuchea, southern Vietnam and Burma, throughout Malaysia and Singapore.

The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) was named after the French explorer Laurent Garcia (1683-1751) and has been in cultivation for a considerable time in various parts of humid tropics.

The tree was planted in Ceylon about 1800 and in India in 1881.

It is rare in Queensland, where it has been tried many times since 1854, and poorly represented in tropical Africa (Zanzibar, Ghana, Gabon and Liberia). There were fruiting trees in greenhouses in England in 1855.

The plants reached Puerto Rico in 1903 and by 1906 seeds were received in the United States Department of Agriculture also but survival of seedlings was very poor.

The mangosteen is gaining popularity in the international market and recent demands for exported fruit have prompted growers to consider this crop with renewed interest.
Fruit of mangosteen