By Dr Michelina Andreucci

BACK in the days when I was growing up, indigenous fruits grew in abundance and could be picked and enjoyed as fresh as possible, straight from the trees.
One did not have to buy them at markets or shops – they were bestowed on us by the guardians of the land – our ancestors. Michero yemusango yaichengetedza munhu wese (The fruits of the forest belonged to everybody).
My grandmother Rudo would say wild fruit had to be eaten within the vicinity of the tree where picked; one was never, under any circumstances, permitted to make any pronouncements regarding the fruit or the trees.
Later I realised this ensured the propagation and dispersal of the fruits; that way indigenous people practiced and made certain the prolongation of the forests.
It also showed their respect for the environment.
Fruits of the motherland were also part of our land culture and orature traditions.
The Matopos, south of Bulawayo, is an area of high botanic diversity with over 200 species of trees recorded.
These include many indigenous fruits that helped to sustain the people and ‘amabutho’ (fighters) who took refuge among the granite boulders during the time of skirmishes with the white settlers.
Today, this concept perceived as food security was understood and practised by the indigenous people to live in harmony with nature and were part-and-parcel of dietary supplements and everyday survival.
Many of us can remember the saying, ‘Ndinokutemhera mupichisi’ (I will break a peach stick to discipline you).
A switch from a kakamas peach tree is infamous in many of our childhood memories.
It was used to discipline us early in life.
But not all memories are bitter; we can associate the peach with sweet seasons of harvest, peaches and cream, and Peach Melba deserts made with tined peach halves and ice-cream with Melba sauce made from tins of Zimbabwean Cashel Valley peach halves; which, as with other fruits, were available all year round.
Sadly today, when we refer to certain fruits we often say, ‘Ndezvevarungu’ or ‘Michero yavarungu’.
Yet many of these fruits are indigenous to Africa.
The kakamas peach is one of the indigenous varieties that grew naturally in the region.
In line with Zimbabwe’s beneficiation programme, apart from fresh consumption, most fruits can be used for juice, syrup, jams and other productions to add value to farming.
In line with the Command Agriculture thrust for increased agricultural productivity, it is important to continue motivating indigenous farmers in the diverse sectors of agriculture such as fruit farming.
Peaches (prunus persica) are not only a popular fruit, but are symbolic in many cultural traditions, such as in art, paintings and folktales, such as Peaches of Immortality from China where they where first cultivated and where they are also considered a symbol of friendship, as well as immortality.
In fact, China is the largest producer of peaches.
In 2014, it produced over half of the world’s peaches and nectarines that are the same species, though they are regarded as different fruits commercially.
China is believed to be the ancestral home for nectarines.
Humans have dispersed this species widely over several thousands of years.
Today, nectarines are cultivated varieties derived from the species prunus persica with a wide variety of colours, textures and flavours.
Nectarines are smooth-skinned with colours ranging from pale white, through to yellow to totally red.
The sweet, aromatic, juicy flesh of nectarines range in colour from white, through to yellow-gold, to bright orange.
Their taste ranges from sweet to sub-acid to strongly acidic.
Apricots
The precocious apricot, from where the word ‘precocious’ is derived is not a European fruit as one would have us believe. They belong to Africa and Western Asia.
The apricot, (prunus armeniaca), is a rosaceous tree native to Africa; it was widely cultivated for its succulent edible fruit that resembles a small peach.
This medium-sized tree has thin, smooth heart-shaped leaves; the flowers are white in colour and reaches between five-seven metres in height.
The apricot fruit is a downy yellow, juicy, fleshy edible fruit of the tree with a high content of vitamins ‘A’ and ‘C’.
The peels of the ovoid fruit vary in colour, according to variety, from light yellow to intense orange.
In botanical terms, the fruit is closely related to peaches and nectarines; part of the broader rosaceae family of fruit-trees in the prunus genus that include the rose, strawberry, blackberry, apple, cherry, plum and apricot trees.
Peaches
Peaches were well known to the Romans in the 1st Century AD. The ancient Romans referred to the peach as malum persicum or ‘Persian apple’.
The fruit became known as pêche in French and ‘peach’ in English.
Peach trees have been found portrayed on the wall paintings in the towns of Pompeii, Italy, that were destroyed by the volcanic eruption in 79 AD.
Fruits have much more to offer than their amazingly delicious taste.
Fruits store a broad range of vital nutrients and are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other chemical contents that provide many health benefits for healthy strong bodies.
African health has for centuries been sustained by eating organically grown vegetables and indigenous fruits.
Today, the Western hemisphere is touting the phrase ‘organic farming’ as if it were novel to Africans.
In Zimbabwe, rosaceous fruits were widely grown in the Cashel Valley, 92km south of Mutare, where the climate is ideal for the intensive cultivation of horticulture and forestry.
The valley, which in pre-colonial times may have been Nyanyadzi, was named after Colonel R. Cashel who, after retiring from the British South Africa Police, settled in the area usurping the indigenous people who lived in this fertile valley.
Many innocent civilians and freedom fighters in Zimbabwe fell victim to fruit poisoning.
During the height of the liberation war in the late 1970s, fruit was intentionally poisoned by the Selous Scouts to kill freedom fighters who were stationed along the eastern border where most fruit was grown.
Good husbandry in selecting, planting and caring for our fruit trees will yield rewarding results for indigenous Zimbabwean farmers under the indigenous Command Agricultural Programme.
For too long, indigenous peoples’ diets were restricted by the cash crops grown by the previous commercial farmers; African fruits should be incorporated as an integral part of our diets.
In light of the Command Agriculture Programme, indigenous Zimbabweans are blessed with the opportunity to determine our own palettes for better health and the diverse range of produce that can be grown.
Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant lecturer and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field.
For views and comments, email: linamanucci@gmail.com