Gandaria

The sweet and sour gandaria can be found as part of fresh condiments, pickles, or lalapan, as well as the chilli sauce, or sambal. This yellow-to-orange fruit has bright purple cotyledons in its big seed. A native to North Sumatra, West Java and Peninsular Malaysia, gandaria flowers bloom from June to November, and fruit from March to June. The tree can soar as high as 27 meters, and take advantage of high humidity to grow on fertile soil usually not more than 300 meters above sea level. A mature tree produces up to 200 kilograms of fruit in one season, and offers much-needed shade during the dry season. The price is equal to the best mangoes, especially when off-season. With vegetative propagation planting, the first harvest can be obtained between five to six years after seedlings have been established.