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From:	heidi jane (71.168.226.235)
Subject:	has anybody ever been to this park before???
Date:	May 27, 2012 at 1:06 pm PST

Antidesmas. Rollinias. Rukams. Snake fingers. They may sound like the villains from a 1970s sci-fi flop, but in fact they're just four of the more than 500 oddball species of tropical and subtropical fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and nuts that flourish at Miami-Dade County's Fruit and Spice Park.

The park provides both adults and children with a real-life Wonka world in which to dork out. Where else can you try species of black sapote fruit that tastes like chocolate pudding? Or learn about the miracle berry, a fruit that makes sour foods taste sweet?

Established in 1944, the 37-acre park is the only public tropical garden in America, and a revelatory day trip if your working knowledge of edible flora begins and ends with the Red Delicious.

Here, you'll find more than 80 varieties of banana, 70 types of bamboo, 40 sorts of grapes, 150 kinds of mango, plus a poisonous-plant collection and a parcel dedicated to fiber, dye and latex. Divided by world region, the park's collection is best taken in on one of the guided tram tours, which are offered several times a day.

Although visitors are forbidden to pick from the trees, they're welcome to eat any fruit they find on the ground, and the gift shop offers a spread of free samples of whatever's ripe and in season, as well as unusual seeds, canned preserves made from the park's fruits, teas, and books for sale.

Who is the fabulous maniac responsible for this wonderland? Actually, there are a couple of them. The park was first conceived of in the 1930s by A.D. Barnes, who oversaw the Dade County parks at the time. Mary Calkins Heinlein, a homesteader from the area who wanted a venue in which to display the area's astonishing agricultural wealth, became the park's first superintendent in 1944.

For the past 30 years, though, the FSP has been the domain of Chris Rollins, whose previous post as president of the awesomely named Rare Fruit Council International prepared him well for the job. Under Rollins' guidance, the park's collection has grown exponentially, and now includes species sourced globally from Belize to Burma.

Today, the FSP also offers a diverse range of workshops on subjects such as plant propagation, growing pesticide-free gardens, and cultivating and using medicinal herbs.

Wherever he is, Willy Wonka is beaming with pride.

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