Morris Arkin (October 18, 1910 – November 19, 1996) was a

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

native and retired

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

whose backyard experiments in tree propagation helped expand the market for Florida-grown

star fruit Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of ''Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacif ...

and

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

nuts.

Early life

Mr. Arkin graduated from Central High School and attended what is now

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. Mr. Arkin was a stage actor and later worked in real estate. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After World War II, he married Sylvia Swerling, and they lived in Washington, D.C. In 1952, they moved with their children to Coral Gables,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he worked as a stockbroker and later managed the brokerage office until 1981.

Fruit Cultivation

During the late 1960s, Mr. Arkin began cultivating plants and trees in his backyard, eventually developing a variety of

carambola Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of ''Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacif ...

, or

, that became commercially viable and was named after him. Until the early 1970s, carambola had been grown only as specimen trees in botanical gardens and experiment stations and as a curiosity in home landscapes. However, because of its attractive star shape when cut in cross-section and yellow to golden color, it began to grow in popularity. Fruit from early introductions were however, sour and sometimes considered unpalatable. This limited market and public acceptance, inhibiting development and expansion of carambola as a commercial fresh fruit. Mr. Arkin cultivated the "Arkin" variety – a sweet carambola with good handling characteristics – in the mid to late 1970s.http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/2002%20Vol.%20115/92-93(Knight).pdf Soon afterward, the limited commercial area of carambola under cultivation in south Florida (4 to 12 ha) was top-worked to "Arkin" and this new cultivar led to a rapid increase in consumer demand for the fruit which further stimulated interest in establishing new commercial plantings. Today, the "Arkin" variety represents 98% of the current acreage in South Florida. The publication ''Tropical Fruit News'' noted that he also worked to establish the "papershell"

as a commercial tree for South Florida, now known as the "Arkin Papershell" variety. He sold trees to growers in

Death

Mr. Arkin worked with his trees right up until his death from a pulmonary edema and

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1996. Sylvia Arkin died in 2007. Mr. Arkin is survived by three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Resources

Commercialization of Carambola, Atemoya, and Other Tropical Fruits in South Florida

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkin, Morris 1910 births 1996 deaths American horticulturists People from Coral Gables, Florida People from Washington, D.C. American stockbrokers Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American botanists