Cultivating Fruit Salad Vines In Whangarei

Northern Advocate, 22 January 1944, Page 4

Cultivating Fruit Salad Vines In Whangarei

Cultivation of the Queensland fruit salacl vine, or monstera deliciosia, has been commenced by several gardening enthusiasts of the Whangarei district. Planted five years ago, one vine, the property of a Whangarei resident, has born five fruit, each of which is valued at 7/6 in Australia. The fruit takes two years to ripen, in appearance is cylindrical and pineapple-like, and has a taste resembling the pineapple and banana. Defining the monstera deliciosia, the “Gardening Encyclopaedia’’ states that it is a hothouse evergreen climbing plant with ornamented fruits and foliage, found growing wild in tropical America, Mexico and Costa Rica. It has woody branches which cling to other trees by means of long cord-like aerial roots developed along the whole length of the stem, and large, deeplydivided leaves, which are leathery in texture and perforated, with large holes. The flowers are in the form of a spathe and are coloured yellow.