Taiwan’s oldest wax-apple grove

Zhang Hu area, nestled in the low hills of Zhen Nan Village in Meishan Township, Chiayi County, is a place where simple village folk have lived off the land for many generations. In these tranquil hills is hidden Taiwan's oldest wax apple tree grove, which villagers believe is home to Southeast Asian wax apple trees. The 100-year-old variety of wax apple trees growing beside villager Chen Liang-Xian’s family home seems to give credence to this story.

At one time the whole mountain was cloaked in betel nut trees, but Zhen Nan Villagers slowly cut these down and replaced them with the wax apple, retrieving the ancient wisdom of their forefathers and the age-old tradition of growing wax apples in the area. Originally, this variety was not so large, but after years of planting experience the trees are now healthier and more vigorous than ever, and the fruits can compete with any of the new varieties on the market. Nowadays, in addition to the domestic Taiwanese market, the Zhen Nan area has become a prominent exporter of wax apples to Mainland China, and as a result the area is a hive of business activity. Over the past few days, with the approach of Typhoon Tembin wax apple farmers have been hurriedly harvesting ripe fruit for fear of losing a whole year’s hard work.

PeoPo 公民新聞

Taiwan’s oldest wax-apple grove (by CJ cu8060)
URL: http://www.peopo.org/news/100064

(以下是中文對照)

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台灣最古老的蓮霧群 影音 ( 公義使者 )

樟湖是嘉義縣梅山鄉圳南村的中海拔聚落，民風純樸，代代以務農為生，看似平靜的山巒，卻擁有全台最古老的蓮霧樹群，這裡的村民相信，所謂南洋種的蓮霧都來自圳南。村民陳良顯家屋旁的這株百年老蓮霧，證明了這段歷史與說法。圳南村民把原本滿山滿谷的檳榔樹，逐漸砍伐，為的是要找回老祖先的農耕智慧，更是要延續百年蓮霧的旺盛生命力。這種老品種的蓮霧，果粒原本不大，但這幾十年來，村民累積了豐富的栽植經驗，不但植株健康旺盛，果粒也直追改良後的新品種，目前除了內地銷售管道，圳南的蓮霧已經成了外銷大陸的主要產地，每天都可以看到盤商抱著現金來收購。這幾天天秤颱風來襲，圳南樟湖一帶的果農忙著搶收成熟的蓮霧，唯恐措手不及，毀了一整年的心血。

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