India is rich in plant diversity. During summer, some of the best tropical fruits are available in India. Most of these fruits are formed on naturally growing wild, native Indian trees in cities, villages, and forests. Many of these fruits are cultivated in farms, orchards, and home gardens.
Let’s have a look at top fruits that are hallmark of Indian summers:
1. Mango (Mangifera indica):
Indian summers are incomplete without mango. It is undoubtedly the king of fruits in the Indian subcontinent. There are dozens of varieties grown all over India. There are well-planned commercial mango orchards with amazing, authentic varieties. Mango grows wild in Indian conditions providing lip-smacking flavours. Mango season starts in summer and continues till the middle of the monsoon. Dwarf grafted mango plants are also grown in containers in terrace gardening.
2. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus):
Widely cultivated and popular in the Indian subcontinent, it is national fruit of Bangladesh. It is a giant fruit with a wonderful fruity smell and flavor that has a cult following in the people who have developed a taste for it. The raw fruit is eaten as a vegetable. The evergreen tree is huge and needs plenty of space to grow. Jackfruits are formed on the main trunk of a tree.
3. Jamun: (Syzygium cumini):
The black fruits have a combination of sweet, mildly sour and astringent flavour and tend to colour the tongue purple. It is an evergreen tree that grows wild in India. A slow-growing species, it can reach heights of up to 30 m and can live more than 100 years. Its dense foliage provides shade and is also grown just for its ornamental value. When in the fruiting stage a back-purple carpet is formed on the ground due to fallen fruits.
4. Karaunda: (Carissa carandas):
The berry-sized fruits are formed on a prickly shrub. This flowering plant is suitable for fencing. The green raw fruits are pickled and black ripe fruits are a delicacy. The plant is grown from seed sown in the monsoon. The fruit is a rich source of iron, so it is sometimes used in the treatment of anaemia. It contains a fair amount of Vitamin C.
5. Tadgola: (Borassus flabellifer):
These are fleshy, watery, sweet jelly seeds formed inside tough Palmyra palm fruits. Tadgola is translucent pale-white, similar to that of the lychee but with a milder flavor and no pit. This watery fruit is heavenly relief in Indian summers. This palm has a growth pattern, large size, and clean habits that make it an attractive ornamental tree, cultivated for planting in gardens and parks as landscape palm species.
