Starfruit/Carambola

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Botany

After answering questions from the occasional curious and confused relative/aquaintance/stranger about what exactly Botany is all about, I decided to post a link to a really good definition in Wikipedia.


Wikipedia Entry on Botany

Peaches

I love peaches. Delicate, yummy white peaches and hearty yummy yellow peaches alike - peaches are just delightful.

Picking out just the right peach from a grocery store or farmer's market often has folks a little stumped. Here are a few tips:

General selection tips - don't just look for the pink ones! This dominant color has to do with variety, not ripeness. You'll want to go for the peach with a darker undertone of yellow or cream. Smell the peach - does it smell peachy? The unripened peaches have no distinguishable scent.

Know when you're planning on eating your peaches.

In the next half hour:
-look for the peach with the most give, soft and supple to the touch, without mold, dark bruises, or puncture wounds. The mushier, the more juicy!

In the next two days:
- still feel for some give.

In the next week:
- go for the harder ones - but never a rock!

*Always be sure to store your peaches in a paper bag to ripen. They will not only rot in plastic!*
Almost-ripe peaches can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half. Much longer than that, and you'll be sad you wasted such a beautiful fruit.

----------------- peach memories ---------------------------------------------------
One of my favorite fruit trees growing up was our "Springtime" peach tree. Actually, it was another peach tree entirely, but my father grafted a branch of the white-fruited "Springtime" variety onto an otherwise dull hum-drum average peach.

Unfortunately several years ago, a combination of poor watering and an attack of pests brought the demise of my favorite peach tree. I cried long and hard the day my father ripped it out of the ground. The orchard portion of our backyard has never looked quite the same since then, even though we have filled the area with other fun peaches and nectarines. I maintain the hope that one day we'll find a "Springtime" peach in a nursery catalog. Or maybe we'll make a friend who happens to have a tree, and we can graft it to our thriving home-bred white-skinned "Le Duce" peach tree.


Some pretty photos of peaches:






Photos come from these sites:

http://ag.arizona.edu/OALS/ALN/aln46/aln46gifs/luna1.jpg
http://www.agrimaxintl.com/images/full_size_pic/white_flesh_Peach.jpg


Here are some handy websites for great tips on Peach tree care and maintenance:
http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/fruit/peach.html
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C877.htm

Here is a site that will tell you all about selecting the perfect peach from your grocery store or Farmer's Market:
http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/5667

Mexican & Other Oregano

Ok folks, this one isn't about your usual Greek/Italian/Turkish Oregano that most people think of.

It's about the mysteriously difficult-to-research Mexican Oregano. Found in - you guessed it- delicious Mexican cuisines. I'm still on the lookout for more about this plant. So far, I have learned that there are multiple plants with various leafing patterns that fall into "mexican Oregano". There are several different local varieties in South America, including a "Cuban Oregano". Each region seems to have something different that they like to call Oregano. The general trends: aromatic, tangy with a hint of lime, woody stalk on bush or tree-like plants. Incredibly wonderful in Chile, Fish Tacos, etc. etc. Basically - you add this to any Mexican dish and it adds a punch of incredible and exotic flavor. It's pretty commonly in use in Texas and Arizona. Not so much in Southern California. Definitely would do well here if planted as an ornamental shrub, but not too many people think about it as an ornamental.

So here's what I have gathered so far:
Lippia graveolens
Poliomintha longiflora
Lippia berlandieri
Plectranthus amboinicus
These are various varieties of South American Oregano. Lippia Graveolens is related to my plant from earlier this week: Lemon Verbena. Not a huge suprize since traditional Greek Oregano and all of the South American Oreganos are in the same plant family - Lamiaceae - the mint family!
Here's what some of them look like when grown:

Mexican Oreganos



Cuban Oregano





Photos come from these sites:

http://susanalbert.blogspot.com/pix/Poliomentha0801.jpg

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Lamiaceae/Poliomintha_longiflora2.jpg

http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/2004/5/5176.jpg

These websites were helpful with information:

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/oregano.htm
http://www.mccormick.com/content.cfm?id=8234

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregano

eh, kinda helpful:

http://www.nativesoftexas.com/moregano.html
http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/000798.html

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4091/is_200511/ai_n15935864

http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Mexican+Oregano

Lemon Verbena

Do you love citrus and flowery springtime all at once? Lemon Verbena is what you're looking for. It is common in perfumes, soaps, lotions, and you can even make it into some great desserts!

Here's what the blossoms look like:



You can spot it as anything from a 2-3ft ornamental shrub to a tree that is 2 meters tall. 200 years ago, it was one of the most common European ornamentals. But on this side of the world, it requires more trimming than most people want to do - in order to keep it a manageable size.

Most of the commercial Lemon Verbena is grown in France, but it is found natively in Peru and Ethiopia. You'll find it growing best where there isn't winter frost, and summer temperatures do not exceed 100 degrees (USDA zones 8-10 are best). Seeds are difficult to purchase, so most people start their own plants with softwood cuttings.


Image taken from:
http://rustylopez.typepad.com/imagoarticulus/2005/11/index.html

These websites were helpful with information:
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Lipp_cit.html
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/279/