Tags
Carambola, Cashew Fruit, Manzana de Agua, Orange-fronted Barbet, Star Fruit, Starfruit, Water Apple

Carambola – Averrhoa carambola
Poza Honda/Manabi Province/Ecuador – A row of Carambola (Starfruit) trees lines one side of the house where I live, and a bumper crop has just reached maturity. Admiring the sunlight on the yellow-orange fruits, I pondered taking a photo but decided it would be boring – even though the tree almost glowed with color.
I reasoned, “It will just be a pretty image you’ll never use,” and returned to my task of applying new colors to a sun-faded straw bird.

Just starting to paint the weary old bird, I remembered to take a photo!

The Carambola trees start at the left of the image. The straw bird, however, would like to know if you like its new colors!

Timeout for consultations about its belly-paint colors! Suggestions are encouraged!
Several days later …. Wading through the photos taken from December 23rd – 26th, I decided that one of the creatures of the ever-changing cast must have read my mind and decided to spread the word:

The squirrel raided the Macadamia tree then dashed to the Carambola to enjoy the treat.

Next the Blue-gray Tanager dropped in to say, Merry Christmas Eve!

“Oh! You’d like for someone to pose- as in ‘Still Life with Fruit?’ I’ll see what I can do!”

The Tropical Gnatcatcher zipped over for a pose!

As did the nervous little wren…

Wow – Look who visited next!

The Orange-fronted Barbets!

Two males and one female enjoyed posing while tasting the fruit!

They stayed around for ten or so minutes and lots of photos! THANK YOU, Blue-gray Tanager for spreading the word!
Many of the photos are saved with the words, “Wow Wow Wow” and “Thank you thank you thank you”!
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(Re: The comments from Christmas Red) No, that fruit from the other post is not ‘Star Apple’ though it’s lovely as well – and an excellent guess, Steve! In Costa Rica the pear-shaped fruit called ‘Manzana de Agua’ bursts into flower and then carpets the ground with its hot-pink flowers.

With a most unique powder-puff of a flower, this tree produces a fruit known in Costa Rica as “Manzana de Agua” or Water Apple. Friends in Ecuador don’t know its name, but I’ve heard it called ‘Pear’ in the past.

The above fruit is like a cross between an apple and a pear.
I introduce you to the Cashew Fruit –

The Cashew Fruit – Anacardium occidentale

Cashew Fruit, aka – Marañon – Anacardium occidentale
Unlike the Starfruit, the Cashew fruit is not as well known; that pear-shaped orb of color is not only fragrant but also very perishable. In Costa Rica kitches, especially in the country, it is often stewed with cloves and cinnamon and brown sugar – for hours – until rich, thick and syrupy – much like fig preserves. Its unique fragrance permeates the area – “Ah, maran-yohn,” I would say when visiting a friend’s kitchen. Very sensitive to ultra-sweet concoctions, I prefer the aroma but not so much the end result of all of that labor!
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Little Piglet raiding the Cashew-fruit tree!
Cashew Fruit – Maranon – Anacardium occidentale: In the book Tropical Plants of Costa Rica, Willow Zuchowski devotes two pages about this fruit, from culinary to medicinal, and she mentions that the oils are sometimes used for termite control!
From the book: “…True fruit is the 3-cm-long kidney-shaped gray knob; what appears to be a fruit (the 10-cm-long, fleshy, yellow-orange-red part) is actually the fruit stem (pedicel); inner flesh of pedicel isyellow and astringent. The true fruit develops very quickly compared to the pedicel. … Relatives include mango, red mombin, pistachio, and poison ivy. — Besides the delectable nuts that end up in cans on grocery-store shelves, cashew trees furnish an array of other products. The tasty maranon, which is actually the swollen stem of the true fruit, is astringent and rich in vitamin C. It is made into juice or eaten fresh, dried or stewed into a syrup recipe …”
“…Don’t try to crack the gray knob of a fresh cashew becaue the flesh surrounding the nut is full of cardol, a caustic oil that can cause blistering irritation to the skin and burning of the eyes. Heat destroys the irritants, so roasting a nut in its gray shell until it turns black makes it safe to peel and eat…” from: Tropical Plants of Costa Rica – Willow Zuchowski
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A young neighbor’s mouth and face were once blistered after he ate a raw cashew fruit; it reminded me of a bad case of poison ivy – seeing was believing, so the squirrels have my blessings to feast on the fresh fruits!
Wilkpediai: Cashew Fruit
As with my other posts from last week, this was written offline in the tranquility of my home. I will go to town, publish the post, then dash back before the end-of-year festivities crowd the highways. See you in 2018!!!!!

Photo from Dec 23/2017 – Extremely-loud music is presently booming from the square – most likely a discomovil, but the New Year Celebrations have already started here in Ayacucho Ecuador!

Look who’s raiding the Balsa tree again! The Balsa deserves its own story!
Happy New Year to All!
(Happy Birthday two days early, Sister Pat!)
I love it! Love it! Love it!
Hi Lisa
Bright yellow!
I had seen how cashews grew when I was in Ecuador. Very funky. My Brazilian resident said that they just ate the fruit and threw away the nut. Eeeegads. Those things aren’t cheap. Happy New Year! 🎊
I lived the first 6 years of life in Brazil. I loved the cashew fruit – truly delicious. When I saw your photos, the taste came immediately to mind. Happy New Year!! Thanks for a great 2017.
The fruit are all so colourful but I think I will stick to the carambola which is a fruit I love. Do you enjoy eating them? And how about a little white on the straw bird. Most of the birds in these photos seem to have white or light coloured breasts.
Thank you for all the joy you bring with your photos. You are sharing such a wonderful part of this world with us… visibly and emotionally!! Happy New Year to you!!
I’ve seen some for sale in produce but haven’t smoked many. Great post. Happy 2018 to you.
Great post Lisa! Happy New Year to you!
Thanks for all this vibrant life and colour on a dreary grey cold end-of-year Scottish day, Lisa! And a very Happy New Year to you…
Gorgeously done as always! Very happy New Year to you Lisa!! I hope 2018 brings you nothing but peace, joy and happiness – you deserve it! P.S. Loved the pics Jody forwarded me of Sybil. Chilly hugs from a warm heart in Edmonton 🙂
Such an array of fruit, enough for you and all your animal and bird visitors. It must be so satisfying to sit and watch them
I love, love, love the Christmas red! Here is hoping your new year is fruitful and delicious. Feliz Año Nuevo mi Amiga.
Love the post, can’t wait to see what color you choose for the breast of the straw bird..you know my preference , any bright color would be perfect 🙂 Happy new year dear friend, love and hugs from SC Mery y Jhon , the newest spelling of our names, Love it
In Cebuano, which is Eve’s language in the Philippines, the carambola is called balimbing. The fruit is so common and relatively inexpensive there that people don’t much value it.
Not only love your words and photos but you too! Happy New Year dear heart.
I’ll never look at a star fruit in the grocery store quite the same way again. Your mention of the irritation associated with the cashew fruit reminds me of something I learned this week about mangoes. I’ve never been able to eat them because of my reaction to them: itching, numb lips, and so on. I found out that they’re in the same family as poison ivy. Now I’m wondering if that might not be the reason for my reaction.
Si, I knew that many people have that sensitivity to mangoes – so sorry that you’re one of those people! The mango blossom ‘cluster’ and the starfruit’s cluster is very similar. I’ll have to photograph both and share at some point.
See? yesterday I could leave a comment. Let’s see if this works.
hahahaha – or as they type in spanish, jajajajajaja!
As an Indian, carambola star fruit I have seen in Kerala. And named as aanapulinjika. Its taste is .. Wow.. I felt watery in mouth.I love it very much
What a totally-different name! Thank you so much for adding that trivia to this post!
These particular carambolas are especially sweet! Thank you!
Those straw birds just as pretty as the real thing LOL.. Wonderful images Lisa and those birds and little squirrel looked to be enjoying those fruits as well as posing .. 🙂
Where sis my comment go? I know I looked at this post a few times, and really enjoyed it….and I must have thought I’d commented but never did…catching up now, Lisa, oh well! I love the carambola, the blue tanager, and the cashews…and the sorry old bird that you have revived beautifully by now, I’m sure. 🙂
I’m running behind now but trying to catch up on comments from the past few days… my company/volunteer is most likely at the house and wondering where i am! will check the spam to be sure it’s not there…