CLUBS
TREASURE COAST RARE FRUIT CLUB
Club secretary Tracie Atkinson and her 91-year-old mother have been members
of the club since its inception in 2008.
“You gain so much from
going to just one meeting,”
Atkinson says. “Between the
speakers’ knowledge and
the raffle table, which is like
Christmas every month, it’s a
great time. There are plants,
fruits, and stuff for free, plus
there is a great auction and
we have a lot of camaraderie”
she says.
ALL SIZES AND FLAVORS
When the group hosted
Taste of the Tropics, its last
large event prior to the
pandemic, there were more
than 100 varieties of mangoes
available for attendees to
sample and learn about.
“We couldn’t slice fast
enough to keep up with
demand,” says Atkinson, whose own initial interest was in
growing what her family would eat: avocadoes, mangoes,
different types of bananas, pineapples and some citrus, including
key lime.
Before the pandemic struck, the club
held its annual Taste of the Tropics
event where attendees could sample
fruit and pick up its recipe book.
Spencer says some of her other favorites in the area range
in size, texture, and flavor from the very small Barbados
cherry to plants like the carambola star fruit, canister, avocado,
monstera delicious, guava, atemoya, sugar apple, any
number of the banana varieties, dragon fruit pitaya, and the
monster jackfruit, which is about two feet long and can weigh
up to 40 pounds.
One interesting and noteworthy example of a happy surprise
in the exotic fruit world is the miracle fruit, or Synse-
NO INVASIVE FRUITS
Like many of Florida’s residents, Spencer included, most
are unaware that a number of the rare and exotic fruits that
grow well in Florida are not native to the state. Spencer, who
originally hails from West Virginia, says that rare fruit organizations
like the Treasure Coast club do not promote any fruits
like the mimosa tree, which is also known as Persian silk tree,
that are considered invasive.
For example, the chocolate pudding fruit, which is sometimes
called a black sapote, is native to Mexico but grows
well in Florida, too. It’s a tropical persimmon and when it is
very ripe, its skin turns dark green and becomes very tender
to the touch, making it look like it’s too ripe to mess with.
But if treated with tender loving care, there will be a
creamy, almost black pulp that will look like a childhood dessert
when the fruit is sliced in half. There may be a few seeds,
but they can be easily discarded to keep from detracting from
the fruit’s creamy goodness.
Club secretary Tracie Atkinson of Port St. Lucie says she’s
never really found a rare or exotic fruit she didn’t enjoy, especially
since everything grown by club members is organic.
Her favorite is also one she finds most challenging to grow —
sugar apples.
“They taste like a very ripe pear almost,” Atkinson says.
She added that many of the rare and exotic fruits take on a
completely different taste when dehydrated.
Raised in Wisconsin, Atkinson’s passion for rare fruits
came through a friendship she and her mother had with master
gardeners. She and her 91-year-old mother joined the inaugural
rare fruit group in 2008 when there were fewer than
a dozen members. Though membership took a big hit during
the pandemic, there are still more than 100 active members
and Atkinson says monthly meetings are a great way to learn
and connect with other enthusiasts.
>>
ANTHONY INSWASTY
Member Bobbi Spencer says she has met and gained lifelong friends as
well as gained knowledge through her affiliation with the group.
Port St. Lucie Magazine 19