Hak Ip

'Hak Ip' - Cantonese for 'black leaf', written Haak Yip and Hei Ye in other transliterations - is one of the classic Guangdong cultivars and is named for the unusually dark, almost blackish-green foliage that makes it easy to pick out in a mixed planting. In China it matures about a week after 'Tai So' and is prized for crisp, sweet flesh and excellent quality. It is horticulturally important well beyond its own fruit: both of Hawaii's improved cultivars, 'Kaimana' and 'Groff', were selected from 'Hak Ip' seedlings by CTAHR. UF/IFAS rates it good to excellent for flavor, resistant to anthracnose, and recommends it for Florida home landscapes. Florida growers value the high proportion of chicken-tongue seeds, though the tree has a reputation for shy, uneven bearing on some sites.