fruit ripe for berry picking with fruit basket
Datetime:2012-06-29 Hits:
In recent times, many indigenous fruits such as the deep purpled jamun and wild berries are being marketed in many melas and horticultural exhibitions. Anitha Pailoor feels it is important to conserve these fruits from the wild, not only for the variety they bring to the fruit basket, but also for their medicinal value.
“The fruit costs Rs 180 per kilo. It is a medicinal fruit, not an ordinary one!” Ramesh, a fruit vendor in the City market, is not concerned about the sale of juicy, dark coloured jamuns (syzigium cumunii) piled on his push cart.
The cart, with a couple of other red, yellow and green coloured wild fruits, is a window to the diverse wild fruits of the region.
The profuse fruiting and simultaneous ripening of the jamun is indicative of the onset of the rainy season and commencement of agricultural operations.
Jamun is considered wild but it is also cultivated. The fruit is rich in vitamin C. Its leaf and bark are also used in the preparation of medicine. Jamun seed powder is said to control diabetes.
Kokum (garcinia indica) and amla are other wild berries that are also cultivated. Along with these two prominent berries, there are many other wild fruits which are as good a source of nutrients as traditional fruits. Any person who has spent his childhood in the countryside is bound to have vivid memories of plucking assorted fruits from thorny bushes, tall trees and delicate vines in the woods.
