Yes, Stumpers is a game of sorts where images or clues are given and people guess what the plant is. And, sorry no, it's not a coffee nor a cocoa plant.
Liz, that was the last Stumper posted: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=29944 It might be a clever trick to post a different view of the same plant as a Stumper, but no not a tree tomato.
Yes mplant gets it and Michael F comes in with the proper name. If I had posted the whole photo, I think it would have been obvious from the fruit structure. Anacardium occidentale also makes an accessory fruit, called a cashew apple, which I understand is relished in the tropics. The actual fruit is the curled structure below that contains the seed that is generally called a nut (although not a true nut.) The photo was taken in Costa Rica. I did not handle the fruit as I was concerned about the rash causing irritants in the fruit. In retrospect, I wish I had sampled the "apple". Anacardium occidentale from Wikipedia.
You should have eaten the apple. There are cashew trees down the road from my house, and the fleshy part is actually far more rewarding than the nut. Plus, no need for boiling or roasting to remove the noxiousness.... Geez, you go away for 2 days and they actually post a stumper you know....
As I wrote in the opening, I thought this would be too easy for some. I meant people in the tropics where the plant is so common. It is a plant that so many in the north consume the fruit of, but have never seen. We never see the "apples". I will have to taste some the next time I travel that far south.
