Jabuticaba

Plinia cauliflora, the Brazilian grapetree,[3] jaboticaba or jabuticaba,[3] is a tree in the family Myrtaceae, native to Minas Gerais, Goiás and São Paulo states in Brazil.[3] Related species in the genus Myrciaria, often referred to by the same common names, are native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia.[4] The tree is known for its purplish-black, white-pulped fruits which grow directly on the trunk; they can be eaten raw or be used to make jellies, jams, juice or wine.[5]

Jabuticaba
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Plinia
Species:
P. cauliflora
Binomial name
Plinia cauliflora
(Mart.) Kausel
Synonyms[2]
  • Eugenia cauliflora (Mart.) DC.
  • Eugenia jaboticaba (Vell.) Kiaersk.
  • Myrcia jaboticaba (Vell.) Baill.
  • Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O.Berg
  • Myrciaria jaboticaba (Vell.) O.Berg
  • Myrtus cauliflora Mart.
  • Myrtus jaboticaba Vell.
  • Plinia jaboticaba (Vell.) Kausel

Etymology

The name jabuticaba, derived from the Tupi word jaboti/jabuti (tortoise) + caba (place), meaning "the place where tortoises are found".[6] The name has also been interpreted to mean 'like turtle fat', referring to the fruit's white pulp.[7][8]

The Guarani name is yvapurũ: yva means fruit and the onomatopoeic word purũ, from pururũ,[9] describes the crunching sound the fruit produces when bitten.[10]

Description
Jabuticaba tree
Leaves of Plinia cauliflora

Plant

The tree is a slow-growing evergreen that can reach a height of 15 meters if not pruned. The leaves are salmon-pink when young, turning green as they mature.[11]

The tree prefers moist, rich, lightly acidic soil. It is widely adaptable, however, and grows satisfactorily even on alkaline beach-sand type soils, so long as it is tended and irrigated. Its flowers are white and grow directly from its trunk in a cauliflorous habit.[12] In its native habitat Jaboticabas may flower and fruit 5-6 times throughout the year. Jabuticaba are tropical to subtropical plants and can tolerate mild, brief frosts, not below 26°F.[7]

Fruit

The fruit is a thick-skinned berry and typically measures 3–4 cm in diameter. The fruit resembles a slip-skin grape. It has a thick, purple, astringent skin that encases a sweet, white or rosy pink gelatinous flesh. Embedded within the flesh are one to four large seeds, which vary in shape depending on the species.[13] Jabuticaba seeds are recalcitrant and they become unviable within 10 days when stored at room temperature.[14]

In Brazil, the fruit of several related species, namely Myrciaria tenella and Myrciaria trunciflora, share the same common name.[15]

Production and cultivation

Jabuticaba has been cultivated in Brazil since pre-columbian times. Today it is commercial crop in the center and south of the country.[16]

Commercial cultivation of the fruit in the Northern Hemisphere is more restricted by slow growth and the short shelf-life of fruit than by temperature requirements.[17] Grafted plants may bear fruit in five years, while seed-grown trees may take 10 to 20 years to bear fruit.[14]

Jabuticabas are fairly adaptable to various kinds of growing conditions, tolerating sand or rich topsoil. They are intolerant of salty soils or salt spray.[18] They are tolerant of mild drought, though fruit production may be reduced, and irrigation will be required in extended or severe droughts.[15]

Jabutucabas are vulnerable to the rust, puccinia psidii.[19] particularly when the tree flowers during heavy rain. Other important diseases that effect jabuticabas are canker (colletotrichum gloeosporioides), dieback (rosellinia), and fruit rot (botrytis cinerea).[20]

Uses
Jaboticaba bonsai

Culinary

Common in Brazilian markets, jabuticabas are largely eaten fresh.[21] Fruit may begin to ferment 3 to 4 days after harvest, so it is often used to make jams, tarts, strong wines, and liqueurs. Due to the short shelf-life, fresh jabuticaba fruit is rare in markets outside areas of cultivation.[16]

In Japan the flavor of jabuticaba has been described as similar to that of Kyoho grapes.[22]

Bonsai

Their slow growth and small size when immature make jabuticabas popular as bonsai or container ornamental plants in temperate regions.[23] It is a widely used bonsai species in Taiwan and parts of the Caribbean.[24]

Cultural significance

The jabuticaba tree appears as a charge on the coat of arms of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil.[25]

There are a number of similar species of plant in the family Myrtaceae that are known by the common name Jabuticaba.

References
  1. "Plinia cauliflora (Mart.) Kausel". gbif.org. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  2. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 23 April 2016
  3. "Plinia cauliflora". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  4. "Brazilian grapetree". Eden Project. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  5. "Marianna shares Brazilian treegrape jam recipe". Bundaberg Now. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  6. Rodrigues, Sueli; de Oliveira Silva, Ebenezer (January 5, 2018). Exotic Fruits Reference Guide. Academic Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780128031537.
  7. "Plinia cauliflora". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  8. Love, Ken; Paull, Robert E. (June 2011). "Jaboticaba" (PDF). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
  9. Goodwin Gómez, Gale; van der Voort, Hein, eds. (April 17, 2014). Reduplication in Indigenous Languages of South America. Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. 7. Brill. p. 22974. ISBN 978-90-04-27241-5.
  10. "Yvapurũ, guapuru, jabuticaba". jungledragon.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  11. Marchiori, Jose Newton Cardosa; Sobral, Marcos (1997). Dendrologia das angiospermas: Myrtales (in Portuguese). Federal University of Santa Maria. p. 304. ISBN 9788573910094.
  12. Brown, Stephen H. "Myrciaria cauliflora: Jaboticaba; Brazilian grapetree; jabuticaba; ybapuru" (pdf). deerfield-beach.com. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  13. Boning, Charles (2006). Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs and Vines. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. p. 104.
  14. Antonio Alberto da Silva1, José; Henrique de Almeida Teixeira, Gustavo; Baldo Geraldo Martins, Antonio; Citadin, Idemir; Wagner Júnior, Américo; Andrigo Danner, Moeses (July 1, 2019). "Advances in the propagation of Jabuticaba tree". 10.1590/0100-29452019024. 41 (3). doi:10.1590/0100-29452019024.
  15. Duarte, Odilo; Paull, Robert (2015). Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World. CABI. p. 51. ISBN 9781780645056.
  16. Hernández Bermejo, J. Esteban; León, J. (1994). Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 229. ISBN 9789251032176.
  17. Suívie (November 10, 2020). "What are jabuticaba berries? Six things you need to know". Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  18. Van Atta, Marian (2002). Exotic Foods A Kitchen and Garden Guide. Pineapple Press. p. 78. ISBN 9781561642151.
  19. "Spots on Fruit and Flowers". University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  20. de Almeida Teixeira, G.H.; Berlingieri Durigan, M.F.; Durigan, J.F. (2011). Postharvest Biology and Technology of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Cocona to Mango. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition. pp. 246–274. doi:10.1533/9780857092885.246.
  21. Janick, Jules; Paull, Robert E., eds. (2008). The Encyclopedia of Fruit & Nuts. CABI. p. 536. ISBN 9780851996387.
  22. Baseel, Casey. "Are these grapes growing on a tree trunk? Nope! They're Jabuticaba, the otherworldly fruit with an awesome name". Sora News 24. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  23. Bender, Richard (January 13, 2015). Bountiful Bonsai: Create Instant Indoor Container Gardens with Edible Fruits, Herbs and Flowers. Tuttle Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 9781462916221.
  24. Lim, T.K. (February 9, 2012). Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits. Springer Netherlands. p. 669. ISBN 9789400725348.
  25. Brazilian Flags Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
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