The Governor plum (Flacourtia indica) or Cerise (french for cherry) as it is known within the Caribbean is a lovely fruit that i have always loved from childhood. I remember the first time i ate one, i just put it in my mouth and bite it off and what an awful taste it left, it tied my tongue so to speak. I couldnt understand why so many persons seemed to love it so... until i was given the secret about it, you need to roll it under your fingers to soften the fruit and release the sugars within the fruit cells.

And then...the sweetest of fruits but there is another hindrance also to getting the fruits, its tree is laden with prickles/thorns and off course there is the dilemna of having a male tree, i.e. a tree which only gives off male flowers.

For years there was a tree next to the bath estate football field that i had my eye on, hoping that it would bear, it always gave off lots of flowers and those always fell to the ground. I was convinced the tree was cursed by a soucouyan (local term for witch) or something of that sort but now i understand that it only gave off male infloresence making it unable to bear fruit, similar to the pawpaw or papaya.

Just like week, i went to a farm in the heights of Fond Cole (Glasgow) and the farmer kept talking about how her Governor Plum tree was in full bloom and we should taste the fruit before we left. I was all to eager and dashed towards where she said the tree was located, only to find nothing at all. There were no strange trees or fruits within that vicinity but instead i found the cerise and did i bury myself in those fruits. i picked a small bag to take home for later in the day too.

So i was telling the farmer that i didnt find the plum but i found the cerise, thats when she told me they were the same fruit, so there u have it folks, how i came to know the cerise and the governor plum are two of the same. It's always good to know the local names of fruits but especially important to know the international names as well, especially when you work in the agricultural field like me. you're never too old to learn

Nest@