Plant · P-526

Durian

Durio zibethinus

Durian is a huge tropical tree grown for a fruit famous for being both loved and reviled - the ripening fruit smells strongly and unpleasantly, likened to a sewage works on a hot day, while the flesh tastes of pineapple with cream cheese, or of banana, caramel and vanilla with a hint of onion. The fruit is heavy, spined and falls when ripe, making the ground under a bearing tree genuinely dangerous, so it is sited well away from paths and gathering spots. The seed is poisonous raw but safe once boiled or roasted, and grafted trees start bearing years sooner than seedlings, at three to four years against seven to eight.