Famed Rare Fruit Grower Passes Away

Bill Whitman, horticulturist, inventor and surfer, died on Wednesday, May 30, 2007. Bill was famous for overturning conventional wisdom on what could and could not survive and produce fruit in Florida. Some of his accomplishments include having the first outdoor mangosteen to bear fruit in North America, popularizing miracle fruit, and cultivating rambutan and langsat.

In the past ten years, Bill had also donated five million dollars to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

• Surfer, horticulturist William Whitman dies from the Miami Herald
• Bill Whitman, 92, Is Dead; Scoured the Earth for Rare Fruit via the New York Times

Thanks to Sean Graham for suggesting this for the weblog.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:31 AM on June 4, 2007

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