Kendall Farms | Madrono

Rheedia Madruno

Originates from the wet rainforest regions of Southern Mexico through Panama but is quite prevalent in the upper regions of the Amazon. Not much is known about Madrono, except it is a very close relative of the mangosteen and tastes almost the same. The main difference is that MADRONO will fruit in 3 years whereas mangosteen takes 12 years.

Long termed as the ‘queen of fruits’ the mangosteen is highly acclaimed as being one of the best of all tropical fruits. However mangosteen is finicky and takes some 10-12 years to bear-then will only bear in very hot and humid tropical climates which make it somewhat a risky proposition (non performing) for other tropical areas. Madrono is the answer.

An outstanding structured tree, with dark green leathery foliage, highly decorative, with huge landscaping potential, the Madrono will produce prolific fruit equal in quality and taste to that of the mangosteen-and will bear in only 3-4 years. So in fact, to those who fancy mangosteen, Madrono is a practical and authentic alternative. They are however quite rare in nurseries and can be hard to purchase.

MADRONO can be a slow grower initially and then takes off as long as the soil is not acidic; they can also be grown in containers and as such will only grow to approx. 3m. The tree is also salt tolerant so coastal planting is quite accepted. MADRONO has very few, if any pest problems.

FRUIT: The fruit resembles a bumpy lemon, is oval/spherical shaped , reaching up to 5cm with a white translucent pulp described as like lemon cotton candy-very similar to the mangosteen. Eaten fresh out of hand (children seem to love them) or can be made into

extremely tasty jams and jellies.

Madrono tolerates full sun and partial shade.