Paul Thomson | Exotic-fruit grower, 91

Paul Thomson, 91, a self-taught botanist who cofounded the California Rare Fruit Growers organization and helped expand exotic fruit-growing in the state, died May 31 in Fallbrook, Calif.

Mr. Thomson started the growers group in 1968 as a clearinghouse for exotic-plant enthusiasts. The organization of amateur horticulturists now has more than 3,000 members in about 35 countries.

The group played a major role in promoting many once-rare fruits that became widely available at farmers markets in Southern California.

A child of missionaries, Mr. Thomson developed a taste for mangoes while growing up in India. When he landed in San Diego in the 1950s near the end of his 20-year career in the Marines, he experimented on five acres with growing fruit usually found in warmer climes.

He planted the Chinese lychee and longan fruits, papayas, mangoes, and any other tropical and subtropical fruit he could find. For the most part, he failed spectacularly, done in by freezing and fluctuating temperatures.

In 1962, Mr. Thomson bought a second small farm a little more than five miles away but with a milder climate.

An organic gardener, he earned his living budding and grafting fruit trees for nurseries and grove owners. He also grew mangoes and cherimoyas for the Southern California market.

- Los Angeles Times