Ackee is a tropical pear-like fruit native to Africa. In Jamaica, the ackee fruit is very popular. The flesh of it is only edible and nonpoisonous when the fruit is picked in a strictly defined period. Unripe or overripe ackee fruit contains a poison. If improperly eaten, though, ackee can cause what has been dubbed the Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. But even when fully ripened, the only edible portion is the yellow pulp.