From Plant
Resources of South-East Asia No 2: Edible fruits and nuts, PROSEA
Foundation
by Mien A. Rifai
Taxon
Eugenia uniflora L.
Protologue
Sp. Pl.: 470 (1753).
Family
MYRTACEAE
Chromosome
Numbers
2n = 22
Synonyms
Eugenia
michelii Lamk (1789).
Vernacular
Names
Brazil cherry, Surinam cherry, pitanga (En). Cerise de Cayenne,
cerises-cotes, cerise carrée (Fr). Indonesia: ceremai belanda,
dewandaru. Malaysia: ceremai belanda. Thailand: mayom-farang (Bangkok).
Origin and
Geographic Distribution
Brazil cherry is native to South America from Surinam, Guyana and
French Guyana to southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. At present it
is grown all over the tropics and subtropics. In South-East Asia it is
rare (Java, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines).
Uses
Brazil
cherry is grown for its edible fruit which can be consumed fresh or
made into jam, jelly, relish or pickles. In Brazil the juice is
fermented into vinegar or wine; sometimes a distilled liquor is
prepared. Because of its peculiar, bright-coloured fruits Brazil cherry
is often planted as an ornamental. It used to be popular as a hedge
plant, becoming densely branched when trimmed regularly.
Crushed leaves release a pungent oil which is used as insect repellent.
The bark is rich in tannin and used to treat leather. A leaf infusion
is used in Brazil and Surinam as a stomachic, febrifuge and astringent.
In Java fruits are used to reduce blood pressure.
Properties
Per 100 g edible portion the fruits contain: water 85—90 g, protein
0.8—1 g, fat 0.4—0.8 g, carbohydrates 8—12 g, fibre 0.3—0.6 g, ash
0.3—0.5 g, vitamin C 20—30 mg. The energy value is about 190 kJ/100 g.
The bark contains 20—28% tannin. The leaves yield essential oil
containing citronellal, geranyl acetate, geraniol, cineole, terpinene,
sesquiterpenes and polyterpenes. The seeds are extremely resinous and
toxic.
Botany
Evergreen shrub or tree, up to 7 m tall, with spreading, slender,
sometimes crooked branches. Leaves opposite, ovate to lanceolate, 2.5—6
cm x 1.5—3 cm, base rounded or slightly cordate, apex obtuse to shortly
acuminate, glabrous, glossy, pellucidly dotted, bronze when young, dark
green when mature, turning red in cold, dry weather. Flowers fragrant,
1—4 together in leaf axils, creamy white, about 1 cm in diameter; calyx
tubular, 8-ribbed, 4-lobed; petals white, 7—11 mm long; stamens 50—60.
Fruit a pendulous berry, depressed globose in outline, 1—4 cm in
diameter, 7—8-ribbed, greenish when young turning to orange during
development, bright red to blackish when mature; skin thin, flesh
orange-red, juicy, acid to sweet, slightly resinous. Seeds 1 large or
2—3 smaller ones, flattened.
Seedlings grow slowly. Flowering and fruiting may start when 2 years
old under favourable circumstances, usually it starts when 5—6 years
old, on the flushes of the previous season or basal part of the shoots
of the current season. The fruits develop and ripen quickly, only 3
weeks after anthesis. Flowering and fruiting continue over an extended
period (6—8 weeks) and, depending on the climate, there may be several
crops in a year.
Two types are distinguished: the most common form has bright cerise
fruit and red-tinged foliage; the other form has dark-red to black
berries and similarly tinted leaves; the latter is rarer and tends to
be sweeter and less resinous.
Ecology
Brazil cherry is rather cold-tolerant and will stand several degrees of
frost unharmed. It thrives best in full sun and requires only moderate
rainfall. It withstands a long dry season. In the Philippines it grows
up to 1000 m altitude, in Guatemala up to 1800 m.
It grows in almost any type of soil and withstands temporary
waterlogging, but it is intolerant of salt.
Agronomy
Usually Brazil cherry is propagated by seed. Seed keeps its viability
for about 1 month; germination is within 3—4 weeks. Propagation by
layering or grafting is possible as well. Plants are set out 3—4 m
apart or planted in hedged rows at spacings of 5 m x 1—2 m. Plants are
most productive if left unpruned for a number of years. Fruiting is
promoted by application of fertilizers and fruit development responds
positively to irrigation. Brazil cherry is attractive to fruit flies,
scale insects and caterpillars. Sometimes diseases such as leaf spot,
thread blight, anthracnose, twig dieback and root rot occur. Fruits
should be picked when they are fully ripe, otherwise they will be too
resinous. Picking is done once or twice a day. In India pruned bushes
yielded 2.7—3.6 kg fruit per plant; highest yield obtained in Israel
was 11 kg fruit from one untrimmed plant.
Prospects
Brazil cherry is an adaptable plant, also suited to drier regions and
highland areas of South-East Asia. It is not very demanding and is
particularly useful for home gardens where it may serve as a hedge
plant or ornamental as well as a fruit crop.
For commercial production, the agronomic and economic aspects need
further investigation.
Literature
Morton, J.F., 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Creative Resource Systems,
Winterville, N.C., USA. pp. 386—388.
Ochse, J.J., Soule, M.J., Dijkman, M.J. Wehlburg, C., 1961.
Tropical and subtropical agriculture. Vol. 1. Macmillan, New York. pp.
669—671.
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