When Carlon Chambers yearned for a plate of the national dish, ackee and saltfish - yesterday, he went in search of the fruit. But what he encountered would almost have him falling out of the ackee tree.

The 33-year-old Allman Town, Kingston resident found an ackee with 12 seeds.

"It frighten mi wen mi first see it, it creep me out bad but mi realise seh a God works," said Chambers. "I did tink it was a bunch a dem, a wen mi tek it up mi realise seh something neva normal bout it, you nuh really hear bout dem ting here inna town, a mostly country."

Weighing a little over half a pound the fruit appears like a small pumpkin on the outside but when the underside is revealed it resembles a fat caterpillar, the seeds and edible sections look like the soft undersides of the insect.

amazed

The fruit has also attracted attention from his neighbours and children. "Everybody crowd round it, dem amazed," he said. Though he said he will not be eating it, Chambers is confident that it is fit for consumption.

When asked why he thought the fruit was still fit for eating, since the average ackee pod only contained 2-4 seeds, Chambers answered smartly. "Since ackee a poison off people you haffi be aware, me just love how it open up by itself, me see it inna di tree open."

The fruit must only be consumed after the pod opens naturally and the poison hypoglcin is released. Chambers has dubbed it the '12 head' ackee.