Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Why Rosita de Cacao is called the Funeral Tree? For how long does its fragrance last? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why Rosita de Cacao is called the Funeral Tree? For how long does its fragrance last?

Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) - Flower

Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) - Flower

Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) - tree

Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) - tree

Why Rosita de Cacao is called the Funeral Tree? For how long does its fragrance last?
  • 😇 The Legendary Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (also called Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) got its name from the flower's extraordinary ability to retain its spicy, sweet fragrance for centuries.
  • 😇 These flowers were used in ancient funeral ceremonies, placed in crypts to preserve their aroma for generations. Even today, dried Rosita de Cacao flowers can hold their scent for decades, a testament to their remarkable endurance.


    • History and Legends

    Aztec names: Poyomatli, Xochicacaohuatl, Flor Cacahuaxochitl, Cacaoxochitl.
  • 😇 The species was at one time widespread and growing wild throughout the Oaxaca region of Mexico known for plants used in Shamanism.
  • 😇 Cherished by the Aztecs, the Rosita de Cacao was deeply intertwined with their rituals and daily life.
  • 😇 The flowers, known as Cacaoxochitl or "cacao flower," were blended with chocolate drinks like Tejate, a sacred, energy-rich beverage reserved for royalty and religious ceremonies. This frothy drink combined Cacaoxochitl with other ingredients like cacao, vanilla, and chili peppers to create what the Aztecs called the "drink of the gods."
  • 😇 Legend has it that Emperor Montezuma consumed up to 50 cups of xocolatl daily, infused with Rosita de Cacao, to fuel his energy and passion.


    • Medicinal and Spiritual Uses
  • 😇 The flowers of this tree were not just for flavor - they were also prized for their calming and medicinal properties. Natives used them to treat anxiety, fevers, and coughs, often mixing them with cacao for enhanced effects.
  • 😇 Modern studies suggest the flowers contain lactone alkaloids like funebradiol, which are known for their relaxing properties and are now being investigated for potential medicinal applications.
  • 😇 Beyond its rich history, Rosita de Cacao is an evergreen beauty with creamy white, aromatic flowers and large, leathery leaves. It's a perfect addition to any garden for those who want a piece of history, an enduring fragrance, and a touch of ancient legend.


📚 Learn more from previous posts:
Fruit of Money and Love
Fun Facts: Cacao beans

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What is the best fruit tree producing in winter. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the best fruit tree producing in winter

Loquat flowers

😇 What is the best fruit tree producing in winter
  • 🍑 If you answered the quiz What makes loquats different from other fruits - then you know that Loquat trees flower and produce fruit during the winter months, making them a rare source of fresh fruit when most other trees are dormant.
  • 🍑 Loquat flowers are very pretty! Loquats are relatives of Apples, Peaches, Plums and Pears - they belong to Rosaceae family.


🎥 Loquats are in full bloom in our garden now. The fruit will ripen by April

📚 More about Loquat from previous posts:

🛒 Plant a Loquat Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts #Loquat

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What are these beautiful trees blooming right now? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What are these beautiful trees blooming right now?

Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree, flowers

💌 What are these beautiful trees blooming right now?

🎈 If you happen to be in Florida during Winter months, you must have noticed Orchid trees in full bloom, and the most beautiful of them - Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree.

📚 More from previous posts:
The best shade tree
The most beautiful of all orchid trees
📱 How to grow Hong Kong Orchid Tree

🛒 Order Hong Kong Orchid Tree

#Trees #Fun_Facts

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How to increase libido? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to increase libido?

Cinnamon - Cinnamomum zeylanicum

Cinnamon - Cinnamomum zeylanicum

💋 How to increase libido?
  • Cinnamon helps increase libido and reduce anxiety, - says the Nutritionist.
  • This spice also has antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, it is widely used in cosmetology for hair care, enhancing shine and radiance while adding elasticity.


📚 Lean more from previous post:
What is Cinnamon made of?
About Cinnamon
Plants of Love: Aphrodisiacs of the plant world

🛒Grow your own Cinnamon tree

#Food_Forest #Perfume_Plants #Trees #Fun_Facts

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When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)

💔 When is the season for the Bleeding Hearts
  • ❣️ Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) is named for its red and white flowers that look like dangling hearts.
  • ❣️ Native to tropical West Africa, this climber thrives in bright light and can be grown as a houseplant or trained on a trellis.
  • ❣️ It shows off its most spectacular blooms in winter, but with enough light, it'll happily flower year-round.


📚 More about Clerodendrums in previous posts:

🛒Get your own Bleeding Heart

#Butterfly_Plants #Shade_Garden #Fun_Facts #Hedges_with_benefits #Container_Garden

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What is the miracle behind the Miracle fruit? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the miracle behind the Miracle fruit?

Miracle Fruit, synsepalum dulcificum

What is the miracle behind the Miracle fruit?
  • 🍭 Miracle Fruit, synsepalum dulcificum is a small, red berry that can temporarily make sour foods taste sweet. The berry contains a protein called miraculin, which binds to taste buds and alters the way sour foods are perceived. Sour turns into sweet!
  • 🍭 Native to West Africa, this fruit has been used for centuries as a natural sweetener and is often enjoyed at "flavor-tripping" parties.
  • 🍭 It's also used by chemotherapy patients to help improve their sense of taste, as it can make bitter or metallic-tasting foods more palatable.


📚 Learn more from earlier posts:
How to make sour taste sweet and what causes the miracle?
Everyday Miracle - Grow the Dream!

🛒 Plant your own Miracle Fruit

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Remedies #Fun_Facts

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What is the secret of Mamey's popularity. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the secret of Mameys popularity

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit on a branch

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

Pouteria sapota, Mamey Sapote fruit

😎 What is the secret of Mamey's popularity
  • 🍊 Pouteria sapota, or Mamey Sapote - is a large tropical fruit with a thick, rough skin and sweet, creamy orange flesh with sweet and pumpkin-like flavor.
  • 🍊 It's eaten fresh, blended into smoothies, or used in desserts like ice cream and shakes.
  • 🍊 National fruit of Cuba, native to the Caribbean and Central America, Mamey has been cultivated for centuries and is valued for its rich flavor and high nutritional content.


Flowers emerge in clusters in the axils of fallen leaves along the branches, followed by the showy fruit. This is called cauliflory - when plants flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks. Other examples of cauliflory are Cucumber tree and Jaboticaba.

📚 More from previous post:
Why exotic Mamey is so much wanted

🛒 Order Mamey Tree

#Food_Forest #Fun_Facts

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Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog?

Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog? Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans)

Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans)

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

☕️ Did you know which two trees are behind the creation of Eggnog?

☕️ Eggnog is made from milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs, and two spices: Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Both nutmeg and cinnamon come from spice trees:

Nutmeg is made from the seed of the Nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans).

🔥Cinnamon comes from the bark of the Cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum cassia).

These spices add the classic, warming flavors that make eggnog so popular during the holiday season.

🛒 Shop Spice Trees

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Fun_facts

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What is the most popular Christmas plant? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the most popular Christmas plant?

Christmas Orchid Cactus - Schlumbergera

😂 What is the most popular Christmas plant?
  • Every one knows Christmas Orchid Cactus - Schlumbergera. But this rare variety is exceptional - it is called New Deal.

    • This remarkable Christmas cactus hybrid has spectacular, large-flowers and blooms twice a season.
  • New Deal is completely lost to the trade today, but we have it at Top Tropicals for the first time after it was originally offered for purchase at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden over 90 years ago while having a special rare plant sale on the day of the famous presidential election on November 8, 1932 when F.D.R. was historically voted in as the next American president.
  • The plants we are offering are all 3rd generation vegetative propagation from an original specimen (still alive btw). Its name New Deal - is identical to President Franklin D. Roosevel main campaign slogan us
  • Not only is New Deal an exceptionally obscure, heirloom cultivar especially easy to grow under average house plant conditions,
  • It reliably produces almost an overabundance of brilliant violet-pink and white flowers which are easily an inch larger than any other variety.


💕 Do you have Christmas cactus at home? What colors? Share your pictures!

📚 Learn more:
"New Deal" - a remarkable Christmas cactus

🛒 Order Schlumbergera New Deal

#Container_Garden #Fun_Facts

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What's the smelliest fruit on Earth? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Whats the smelliest fruit on Earth?

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

😷 What's the smelliest fruit on Earth? The King of Fruits: Durian!
  • 😶�️ Durian (Durio zibethinus) is a tropical fruit tree known for its prickly, spiny fruit, which is famous for its distinctive, highly pervasive aroma - often described as unpleasant by many.
  • 😶�️ Despite the powerful scent, which can deter some from trying it, durian is celebrated in Southeast Asia as the "king of fruits." To many, the strong odor is actually a welcome signal of the fruit's rich, creamy golden flesh, which has a sweet, custard-like flavor that's likened to almond and vanilla.
  • 😶�️ Its creamy texture and unique taste make it a beloved delicacy, often commanding a high price in the market.
  • 😶�️ As naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace noted after trying durian on Borneo in the 19th century, "The more you eat of it, the less you feel inclined to stop".
  • 😶�️ Other varieties, like the red and yellow-fleshed Durio graveolans, are available in Southeast Asia and even in regions like South Florida, offering a peanut butter-like taste and greater tolerance to local conditions.


🛒 Shop exotic fruit trees

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