Greenhouse That Introduced Public To Incredibly Stinky Plant Now Offers Bite of Incredibly Tasty One

By Joe Eskenazi Thu., Aug. 27 2009 at 8:30 AM

Categories: Local News, Science and Tech

'Miracle Fruit'

Our green-thumbed readers may remember the July saga of San Francisco State's corpse flower. The exotic Indonesian plant crossed up experts from every local university by stubbornly refusing to bloom. But, when it did, it sure lived up to its title. Visitors to the SFSU greenhouse were invited to write down their olfactory impressions of the flower; some submissions included "trash juice," "vomit," and "my pants."

After inviting the populace to sample a plant that actually emits two of the compounds secreted by decaying flesh, SFSU greenhouse maven Martin Grantham has a much sweeter deal in store for the general public today. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. he's offering free samples of a SFSU-grown pineapple -- but, far more intriguingly, he has seven small "miracle fruits." These amazing West African plants flood the zone of one's tastebuds so thoroughly that even sour, nasty foods taste sweet and delicious for half an hour or more after eating one. Yes, that does sound Willy Wonka-ish.

Joe Eskenazi

Martin Grantham and the corpse flower

Grantham tells SF Weekly that supplies are extremely limited. So if you're in the Ingleside/Park Merced neighborhood at around 1 p.m. today -- and have a malleable enough employment situation that you can justify leaving in the middle of the day to eat some free fruit -- you might want to drop by.

Photo | Tan S.L.