Mangosteen

Mangosteen, the "queen of tropical fruit" (David Fairchild, 1903).
Chinese name is shan zhu (山 竹，mountain bamboo; though I'm told in Hong Kong it's called "foreign devil lichee," 洋鬼 荔枝）。 Purple rind (inedible), white sections (like an orange) inside that are absolutely luscious: juicy with perfect balance of sugar and acid. Indigenous to Thailand, Burma, and SE Asia; now cultivated in China, on Hainan island (South China Sea), so they are plentiful in China. My cousin in Beijing had a crate of them so we ate them like crazy. In Taiwan they are imported from Thailand. The tree is difficult to grow (climate and soil must be just right); apparently an effort to grow it in Hawaii failed. I've never seen them in the U.S. (for more, see link, left)

Lichee are now also in season. Big, plump, juicy, not like the pathetic ones sold in U.S. Chinatowns. Mangos are just coming in. I've also grown fond of Taiwan wax apples, which have a different consistency from regular apples--light and crisp.