Everything on this planet is constantly moving, changing locations and adapting. Mankind has forever been obsessed with discovering the origins of things or their "roots". No matter how things transfer from one place to the next, it is sometimes important to find out the actual origin of something to see just how it has changed to adapt to new environments. Animals, insects and humans eat plants and the seeds get transferred that way. Other plants get their seeds blown in the wind or drop in the water to find new locations. No matter, the point is to discover what it takes to make anything be the best it can be in whatever situation it is. The above map contains links to the believed origins of various fruits that can be found at Frutas del Mundo.
Frutas del Mundo has and grows endangered fruits, the worlds largest fruit, the world's hottest pepper, the fruit containing the highest content of antioxidents known to man, the miracle fruit and many other fascinating plants. We also raise and domesticate fruit trees from many parts of the world. A fascinating thing about plants and other life forms on this planet is that all living things adapt to their environment and conditions in which they live but sometimes they need a little help. For instance a plant that grows in the shade may grow tall and thin to reach for more sun or they won't produce fruits. Another example is the Eucalyptus was first brought from Austrailia because of its fast growth, tall height and hard, straight timber but when it was moved to the northern hemisphere, it spiraled in its growth making its wood no good for timber. So many species of plants and other living things may react differently in different surroundings even though they are the same species.
By saying this, you also need to understand that the changes in timing of seasons like shorter or longer rainy seasons that begin earlier or later cause a chain reaction in ecosystems. Droughts or early plant growth can offset natural balances. For example an early rainy season can provide food for invasive insects that are normally controlled by migration of certain birds which may not arrive in time and causes devastation to various crops. This very scenario happened to palms in the temperate zone a few years back.
Habitats are also becoming endangered with global climate changes. Heaven forbid we use the "global warming" term. Believe what you will, seasons are changing which are causing changes in habitats for many natural life forms. Bees are dissapearing at alarming rates, fish and frogs that normally live in certain locations are disapearing, plants that usually thrive in some locations are now becoming endangered. Africa, Haiti and many countries have reached disaster proportions with this very problem.
Change is not necessarily a bad thing though. To adapt to changes in environment, plants, like humans, develop antibodies to fight new invasive bacterias and molds which may (if researched) become cures to todays human maladies. But in the process some of the less hardy plants need some help to survive. This is beneficial in several ways. At frutas del Mundo, several methods are taught and used to adapt fruit trees and plants to local needs. Grafting is used on all the Rambutans to give them a healthy root system to grow in difficult soils and to create smaller "dwarf" fruit trees for those who have limited space on their land to raise their own foods. Water from the fish farm which is rich in fertilizer from the fish irrigates the crops. Composting toilets and any organic materials is practiced to enrich poor soils and restore nutrients to clear cut land.
Guatemala is a cornicopia of life and abundance but even here, forests are vanishing at an alarming rate. Guatemala's current flora includes more than 8,000 species of plants in 19 different ecosystems ranging from the mangrove wetland forests on both coasts to the pine forests of the mountainous interior and the cloud forests at higher altitudes. Frutas del Mundo's goal has been to share and diversify the richness of it and to introduce more of this planets diversity in responsible ways to benefit all. Global and economic concerns are also taken into account by preserving and propogating fruits to grow in different terrains. If you are interested in taking a world tour of the plants that are represented here, click on a country and see what we have and more about that areas history.
