exotic tropical fruit and vegetables

[darkstar]

http://www.australiantropicalfoods.com/exotic.html

[wandjina]

omigod....they have salak!!!! deeeelicious, not a great photo though...and I would have said the flavour's more like lychee, texture of an onion....and appartently 'salak' is Indonesian for crocodile/crocodile skin.

Anyone know if any's grown in Australia?

[planthelper]

about 20 years ago i saw a salak palm in the cairns botanical gardens, at that time it was not producing fruits yet. it's a very spikey, dangerous palm, i would not like to slip whilst harvesting those fruits.

however, i am pretty certain that this palm never realy elongates it's trunk, it just get's fatter...

so one can pick those culinary delights, allways from standing on the ground.

the fruits display a pattern which somehow resembles, reptil skin, so that explains proly it's name.

Edited March 8, 2006 by planthelper

[Torsten]

Palms for Brisbane has salak at something like $80 for a 6" pot. Ridiculous.

I am importing seed at the moment and should have plants next season.

[genki]

if i remember from my indo classes it translates as 'snake skin fruit'. i miss tropical fruit, think its time for another trip to south east asia

[Rev]

i brought back seed when i ca back from Bali

too easy

eat the fruit wrap in moist perlite or other carrier

they start to germ beforethey make it home

very easy to germinate

i think they need moist higher altitude tropics ala cairns and frost free atherton

they have salacca species in cairns botanic but not salak

i would say aslak is like the heart of a pinapple but with more tannin

the cultivars in bali are afar far superior to those of borneo...