$34.00 ($19.75-$79.00 choose a size)
Despite being tropical the ambarella has proven to be quite hardy and are very fast to become established in the subtropics and fruit set begins after only three years. Tastes like a mix between pineapple and mango but with a crunchy texture. The part nearer to the peel is quite sour getting sweeter near the seed. The ripe fruit is also much sweeter than the less mature green fruit. In Indonesia, they are steamed and eaten as a vegetable with salted fish and rice and in Sri Lanka the raw fruit is mostly eaten fresh and cooked as a curry with chilli. As they mature the skin turns golden-yellow with an orange-yellow pulp surrounding a single large spiny seed. When ripe they have a pleasant pineapple-like fragrance. Growing conditions Like the Mango, the tree thrives in humid tropical and subtropical areas growing up to 2 metres in a single growing season. It grows on all types of soil as long as they are well drained. Trees are cold sensitive when small and should be protected from serious frost and strong wind. Trees do best in full sun, but will produce some fruit in light shade. As a large and vigorous tree they prefer not be planted underneath other large trees and unlike some mango varieties they are not too fussed on salt spray.