Fruit and Spice Park

The 37-acre tropical garden in the agricultural belt north of Homestead is half botanical collection, half edible curiosity cabinet. Jaboticaba, miracle fruit, jackfruit, sapodilla, durian, mamey sapote, and a hundred banana cultivars grow in labelled groves. Guided tram tours run several times a day; the guides will pick fruit on demand and let you try things you have read about but never seen.

The on-site Mango Cafe serves dishes built around whatever is in season. Sunday brunch is popular. The miracle fruit (which makes anything sour taste sweet for an hour after you chew it) is a regular tasting-room highlight. Plan two hours; in mango season, plan three.

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Run by Miami-Dade County since 1944, the park grows more than 500 varieties of tropical fruit, spices, herbs, and nuts that will not survive a frost — more than anywhere else in the continental United States. You can sample whatever has fallen to the ground that morning, including fruits most Americans will never taste.

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