Hello Hive Garden lovers!
Today I want to share a wild fruit from my area here in Zambia that many of you may have never seen before.
This is Masuku - Uapaca kirkiana, also called Wild Loquat or Sugar Plum. I took this photo on October 25th, right at the start of our rainy season. This is exactly when Masuku starts to ripen in the miombo woodlands.
Unlike grafted oranges that we plant, Masuku is 100% wild and indigenous. No one plants it. It just grows naturally in our forests. The tree has those beautiful big green leaves and the fruits turn from green to bright yellow when ready, just like in my picture.
When ripe, they are sweet, a bit sour, with a brown seed inside. In my childhood we would go into the bush to pick them and come back with buckets full. Now they are becoming rare near Lusaka because of charcoal burning and land clearing. So finding a tree full of fruits like this makes me very happy.
Many people here sell them by the roadside for extra income during October to December. You can eat them fresh, make porridge, or even local juice.
We need to protect these indigenous fruit trees. They are drought tolerant, need zero chemicals, and feed both people and birds.
Have you ever tasted a wild indigenous fruit from your country? What is it called?