 Mr. Arkin cultivated the "Arkin" variety – a sweet carambola with good handling characteristics – in the mid to late 1970s.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.