Weird Fruits: 10 exotic fruits with eye-catching looks

If apples and bananas bore you, just get inspired by the funniest fruits in the world. Do you know all the fruits?

The variety of nature is really bombastic. Especially in the plant world, Mother Earth has brought up all kinds of creativity, which has also led to some very strange shapes, colors, smells and interesting flavors.

We have put together the 10 weirdest fruits for you.

1. Horn cucumber / Kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus)

As the name might suggest, the horned cucumber is a plant of the gourd family. Its ripe fruits have a yellow-orange skin, the flesh inside is lime green. Originally, the plant actually comes from New Zealand, but today it is mainly cultivated in the USA, Chile and Australia.

2. Pitaya (Hylocereus undatus, monacanthus, megalanthus)

The dragon fruit is also sometimes referred to as pitaya and belongs to the cactus family. The extreme pink color is probably their trademark. Inside, it has white flesh with a multitude of small, black seeds. With a slightly sour taste and more convincing due to its mild sweetness, it is often a pleasant refreshment in tropical regions.

3. durian (Durio zibethinus)

The durian fruit is also known by another (not so appealing) name: stinky fruit. Native to Southeast Asia, it is also referred to by many as the queen of fruits. Their fruits are characterized by their size, the outer thorns and of course the intense smell. Due to the pungent smell of durian, it is also strictly forbidden in many Asian countries on public transport such as buses or planes.

4. Buddha's hand (Citrus medica)

Buddha's hand belongs to the citrus family. It gets its name from the finger-like segments that extend from the main fruiting body of the fruit. In China and Japan it is mainly used in room fragrance fresheners. Here in Europe, the fruit with the curious shape is not very well known.

5. passion fruit (Passiflora edulis)

Also known as passion fruit, the passion fruit has arrived in European supermarkets earlier. It is grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Dark purple on the outside, the fruit impresses from the inside with its rich yellow flesh and the many black seeds inside.

6. Ugli (Tangelo)

This fruit got its name because of its ugly appearance. It is said to have emerged from a hybridization of tangerine and grapefruit. Originally from Jamaica, the skin of the Ugli is not a rich orange like that of many of their other species Citrus relatives, but more greenish-yellow, which is what you guessed by their unattractive name brought in.

7. rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)

The rambutan comes from the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and is particularly cultivated in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. On the outside, the fruit impresses with its bright pink, but on the inside, the flesh is rather white, sometimes with a pink sheen or slightly transparent. The taste of this exotic is sweet and slightly sour.

8. Finger-leaved Akebia (Akebia Quinata)

The fruits of the finger-leaved akebia have a sausage-like shape and there are plenty of seeds inside the plant. Nevertheless, the fruit has a pleasantly sweet taste. The bush on which the fruit actually comes from the Far East and can be found particularly in China, Japan and Korea.

9. Atmoya (annona × breathoya)

The Atemoya is a hybrid of the cinnamon apple and the cherimoya. Its origin lies in the tropical regions of Latin America. The fruit is usually heart-shaped, has a green skin and inside is the white and sweet-tasting flesh, which is interspersed with a few black seeds.

10. snakeskin fruit (Salacca zalacca)

The fruit of the salak palm (hence often referred to as just salak) comes from Indonesia and mainly grows on the main islands of Sumatra and Java. The shell of the salak is the reason for its exotic name: its reddish-brown skin probably immediately reminds everyone of the skin of a snake. The pulp inside has a sweet, slightly sour taste.

You haven't had enough of special fruits yet? Then read our article on the most expensive fruits in the world.

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