We live in one of the world’s prime growing areas for tropical fruit, and we’re at the height of the season for many of these unique edibles. That means that there are plenty of tasty treats hanging on the trees, from curiously shaped star fruits to oversized jackfruits.

And there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy and celebrate these fruits, whether you opt to spend a day at a u-pick farm or attend a fruit-tree sale (there’s a big one this weekend at the South Florida Fairgrounds).

With that in mind, we’ve created a beginner’s guide to tropical fruit.

So settle back — perhaps with a mango margarita or lychee martini — and appreciate nature’s bounty, South Florida-style.

10 NOTEWORTHY TROPICAL FRUITS

Java Blue banana or Ice Cream banana.

Banana

In season: Year-round

Where it’s native to: Southeast Asia

Characteristics: Don’t just think of your usual Chiquita banana — a variety known as the Cavendish. Bananas come in all shapes, sizes and colors (even pink!). There’s also a particularly tasty variety known as the Ice Cream banana.

Carambola.

Carambola (star fruit)

In season: July to September

Where it’s native to: Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka

Characteristics: Cut it in a cross-section and you’ll see why this waxy fruit gets its nickname — the shape resembles a five-pointed star. Depending on the variety, it can taste slightly sweet or slightly sour or almost vegetal; comparisons are often made with plums, pineapples and lemons.

Jackfruit

In season: Summer and fall

Where it’s native to: South and Southeast Asia

Characteristics: This is a big ol’ fruit — it can weigh up to 80 pounds and looks something like a melon from an alternate universe (note the thick and prickly skin). You eat the area around the seeds — the taste of the flesh is subtly reminiscent of pineapple.

Jaboticaba

In season: Year-round

Where it’s native to: Brazil

Characteristics: It looks almost like a cherry or a dark grape but one with a particularly thick skin. The taste is also somewhat akin to a grape — say, a hearty muscadine.

Mamey sapote

In season: Summer

Where it’s native to: Southern Mexico and northern South America

Characteristics: A large fruit with a brown skin and a distinctively orange flesh. Befitting the color, the taste is like a sweet pumpkin. In the Caribbean (and at many South Florida Cuban restaurants), the fruit is often used in milkshakes (also known as batidos).

Mango

In season: Summer

Where it’s native to: Indian subcontinent

Characteristics: Believe it or not, it’s the world’s most popular fruit. As with bananas, it’s important to note that there are many mango styles — and what you see in the supermarkets just scratches the surface. They can be sweet, but they also can be very fibrous. A popular Florida variety, the Kent, is one of the best eating mangoes because its flesh is almost custardlike and not the least bit stringy.

Hog Plum.

Mombin (hog plum)

In season: Late spring and early summer

Where it’s native to: the Americas

Characteristics: This brightly colored (red or orange) fruit has a tough skin and a juicy, sour-tasting pulp. It’s enjoyed and used in many ways — as a treat straight off the tree, as an herbal medicine, even as hog bait (it’s not called a hog plum for nothing!).

Longan

In season: July and August

Where it’s native to: Southern China

Characteristics: This small fruit takes its name from the Vietnamese term for “dragon’s eyes.” The flesh is juicy, white and sweet — comparable to that of a lychee, an Asian fruit whose Florida growing season just concluded.

Monstera deliciosa

In season: Year-round

Where it’s native to: Tropical rainforests from southern Mexico to Panama

Characteristics: It’s not the “monster” its name implies, but it can be poisonous in its early stages. When ripe, this cornlike fruit starts shedding its kernels, leaving the exposed flesh to be eaten. As with the jackfruit, it’s compared taste-wise to a pineapple.

Tamarind

In season: Late spring and early summer

Where it’s native to: Africa

Characteristics: The fruit resembles seed pods. But you don’t eat the hard, almost rocklike seeds — you eat the exquisitely sour, brown-colored pulp.

WHERE TO BUY FRUIT

Excalibur Fruit Trees: Although this grower primarily sells trees, it does offer fruit from time to time (especially if you’re trying to decide what to plant). Current offerings include mangoes, carambolas and jackfruits. 5200 Fearnley Road, Lake Worth; (561) 969-6988; excaliburfruittrees.com

Hatcher Mango Hill: The name says it all: This family-run grove not only specializes in mangoes, it specializes in a mango it developed on its own — the plus-size Hatcher mango (it can weigh up to 5 pounds). But it does carry other varieties, too. Orders should be placed online — grove will contact you when order can be picked up. (561) 588-6098; hatchermangohill.com

Erickson Farm: It may be a big commercial grower (of mangoes and avocados especially), run by a family with roots in the Glades since 1911, but it also has a retail side. The market is open Sunday to Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 13646 U.S. 441, Canal Point; (561) 924-7714; ericksonfarm.com

Josan Fruit: Run by Joe Pethia, this small growing operation sells more than 25 types of tropical fruits. Call to find out what they’re offering at that particular time and plan a visit — they’re open by appointment only. 5418 Fearnley Road, Lake Worth; (561) 968-2466.

O’Berry Lychee Grove: Lychee season is almost over, but this grove also grows longans. And it’s a u-pick operation, so a visit here is more than just a shopping experience. Open by appointment only. 13940 182nd Court N., Jupiter; (561) 746-8935.

Robert Is Here: If southern Miami-Dade County is the true home of tropical fruit in South Florida (Palm Beach County is a little too far north for some trees), then Robert Is Here is the king of the castle. If anyone grows it, they sell it — and they offer terrific tropical fruit milkshakes, too. 19200 S.W. 344th St., Homestead; (305) 246-1592; robertishere.com

Truly Tropical: A small husband-and-wife growing operation. Chris Wensel and Ken Stenroos specialize in mangoes, including such tasty varieties as Kent and Lemon Meringue, but they also carry other tropical fruits. They’re open Saturday mornings year-round and Wednesday afternoon (5-6 p.m.) during mango season. 2750 Seacreast Blvd., Delray Beach; (561) 278-7754.