One of the most popular and abundantly grown pieces of tropical fruit found in the rainforest are bananas. Not only can you find the regular banana that we all know and love, you can also find finger bananas. These are bananas that grow to only half the size of a regular banana, and are much sweeter and richer to taste. You can find bananas growing in the rainforest on a lovely banana tree.
Acai and passion fruit can also be found growing the Ecuadorian rainforest. Aside from being delicious, these fruits are good for you. Both acai and passion fruit have been named as super fruits, proving to hold many benefits for your health and are both loaded with antioxidants. Acai fruits grow in large clusters near the very top of an acai palm tree, while you can find passion fruit spread out and growing along rainforest vines. Acai berries are about 1 inch in diameter and are blackish-purple color, and the closest fruit they resemble is a grape. Passion fruit is typically purple when ripe. When you split a passion fruit open, you will find a white flesh with tons of pulpy seeds in the center. You can use the seeds to eat as they are, or you can use them in cooking or for juicing.
Dragon fruit grows from a cactuslike plant. The outside of a dragon fruit has bumpy yellow skin, while the inside is filled with a gray, almost transparent pulp that houses tiny black seeds. The taste of dragon fruit has been compared to that of a kiwi, and it is known to have the medical qualities of a natural laxative. The soursop fruit has a sweet and mild flavor, and the taste can be compared to that of a fresh strawberry. Soursops can grow quit large, some to the size of a soccer ball. They appear green with a rough and bumpy skin. The inside is white with pulp and has tons of seeds, and each seed is about the size of a cherry. This fruit is very messy, and because of this, the Ecuadorian people tend to use this fruit for juicing.
Some of the trees you can find in the Ecuadorian rainforest are the capirona tree, kapok tree, fig tree and the gum tree. Capironas have a very rough outer bark that peels easily to reveal a very smooth tree trunk underneath. Kapok trees in the rain forest can grow to about 150 feet. This tree has very long branches only at the top of the tree, and then a very long and bare tree trunk going all the way down to the roots. Fig trees have a very smooth bark with a type of fungus growing out of it. Fig trees have a bushy tree top with leaves that flower to bear fruit. Gum trees were once used in the making of chewing gum. They have a thick sap that turns to a rubbery texture when rolled in your hands. Gum trees can grow to about 240 feet, although they can have a very thin and twiglike appearance.
