From the book
Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia F. Morton
Jamaica Cherry
Muntingia calabura L.
ELAEOCARPACEAE
This is a minor but well-known and wholesome fruit, borne by a
multipurpose tree and therefore merits inclusion. The Jamaica cherry,
Muntingia calabura L., is a member of the family Elaeocarpaceae. It has
acquired a wide assortment of vernacular names, among them capuli or
capulin which are better limited to Prunus salicifolia (q.v.). In
Florida, it has been nicknamed strawberry tree because its blooms
resemble strawberry blossoms, but strawberry tree is a well-established
name for the European ornamental and fruit tree, Arbutus unedo L.,
often cultivated in the western and southern United States, and should
not be transferred to the Jamaica cherry.
Fig. 78: The Jamaica cherry (Muntingia calabura) is a fast-growing, useful tree and the sweet fruit is popular in tropical America and Southeast Asia.
In Mexico, local names
for the latter are capolin, palman, bersilana, jonote and puan; in
Guatemala and Costa Rica, Muntingia calabura is called capulin blanco;
in El Salvador, capulin de comer; in Panama, pasito or majagüillo;
in Colombia, chitató, majagüito, chirriador, acuruco,
tapabotija and nigua; in Venezuela, majagua, majaguillo, mahaujo,
guácimo hembra, cedrillo, niguo, niguito; in Ecuador,
nigüito; in Peru, bolina, iumanasa, yumanaza, guinda yunanasa, or
mullacahuayo; in Brazil, calabura or pau de seda; in Argentina,
cedrillo majagua; in Cuba, capulina, chapuli; in Haiti, bois d' orme;
bois de soie marron; in the Dominican Republic, memiso or memizo; in
Guadeloupe, bois ramier or bois de soie; in the Philippines, datiles,
ratiles, latires, cereza or seresa; in Thailand, takop farang or ta kob
farang; in Cambodia, kakhop; in Vietnam, cay trung ca; in Malaya, buah
cheri; kerukup siam or Japanese cherry; in India, Chinese cherry or
Japanese cherry; in Ceylon, jam fruit.
Description
This
is a very fast-growing tree of slender proportions, reaching 25 to 40
ft (7.5-12 m) in height, with spreading, nearly horizontal branches.
The leaves are evergreen, alternate, lanceolate or oblong, long-pointed
at the apex, oblique at the base; 2 to 5 in (5-12.5 cm) long,
dark-green and minutely hairy on the upper surface, gray- or
brown-hairy on the underside; and irregularly toothed. The flowers,
borne singly or in 2's or 3's in the leaf axils, are 1/2 to 3/4 in
(1.25-2 cm) wide with 5 green sepals and 5 white petals and many
prominent yellow stamens. They last only one day, the petals falling in
the afternoon. The abundant fruits are round, 3/8 to 1/2 in (1-1.25 cm)
wide, with red or sometimes yellow, smooth, thin, tender skin and
light-brown, soft, juicy pulp, with very sweet, musky, somewhat
fig-like flavor, filled with exceedingly minute, yellowish seeds, too
fine to be noticed in eating.
Origin and Distribution
The
Jamaica cherry is indigenous to southern Mexico, Central America,
tropical South America, the Greater Antilles, St. Vincent and Trinidad.
The type specimen was collected in Jamaica. It is widely cultivated in
warm areas of the New World and in India, southeast Asia, Malaya,
Indonesia, and the Philippines, in many places so thoroughly
naturalized that it is thought by the local people to be native.
Macmillan
says that it was first planted in Ceylon about 1912. Several trees were
introduced into Hawaii by the United States Department of Agriculture
in 1922. Dr. David Fairchild collected seeds of a yellow-fruited form
in the Peradeniya. Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, in 1926 (S.P.I. #67936).
The tree has been grown in southern Florida for its fruits and as quick
shade for nursery plants. It is seldom planted at present. Volunteers
from bird-distributed seeds spring up in disturbed hammocks and
pinelands. The author supplied seeds requested by the Kenya Agriculture
Research Institute, Kihuyu, in 1982. The Jamaica cherry is said to grow
better than any other tree in the polluted air of Metropolitan Manila.
It runs wild on denuded mountainsides and on cliffs and is being
evaluated for reforestation in the Philippines where other trees have
failed to grow and also for wildlife sanctuaries since birds and bats
are partial to the fruits.
The fruits are sold in Mexican
markets. In Brazil, they are considered too small to be of commercial
value but it is recommended that the tree be planted on river banks so
that the abundance of flowers and fruits falling into the water will
serve as bait, attracting fish for the benefit of fishermen. In Malaya,
the tree is considered a nuisance in the home garden because fruit-bats
consume the fruits and then spend the day under the eaves of houses and
disfigure the porch and terrace with their pink, seedy droppings.
Climate
The
Jamaica cherry is tropical to near-tropical. The mid-19th Century
botanist, Richard Spruce saw it in Ecuador "in the plains on both sides
of the Cordillera" growing "abundantly by the Rio San Antonio, up to
2,500 ft" (760 m). It is found up to 4,000 ft (1,300 m) in Colombia.
When well-established, it is not harmed by occasional low winter
temperatures in southern Florida.
Soil
The
tree has the reputation of thriving with no care in poor soils and it
does well in both acid and alkaline locations, and even on old tin
tailings in Malaya. It is drought-resistant but not salt-tolerant.
Propagation
Brazilian
planters sow directly into the field fresh seeds mixed with the sweet
juice of the fruit. To prepare seeds for future planting, water is
added repeatedly to the squeezed-out seeds and juice and, as the seeds
sink to the bottom of the container, the water is poured off several
times until the seeds are clean enough for drying in the shade.
Culture
The
planting hole is prepared with a mixture of organic fertilizer and soil
and with a fungicidal solution to prevent the young seedlings from
damping-off. To assure good distribution of the seeds, they are mixed
with water and sown with a sprinkling can. When well fertilized and
watered, the seedlings will begin fruiting in 18 months and will be 13
ft (4 m) high in 2 years.
Season
Wherever
it grows, fruits are borne nearly all year, though flowering and
fruiting are interrupted in Florida and Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the 4
coolest months. Ripe fruits can easily be shaken from the branches and
caught on cloth or plastic sheets.
Pests and Diseases
In
Florida, in recent years, the fruits are infested with the larvae of
the Caribbean fruit fly and are accordingly rarely fit to eat. The foliage is subject to leaf spot caused by Phyllosticta sp. and Pseudocercospora muntingiae (formerly Cercospora muntingiae), and the tree is subject to crown gall caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Food Uses
The
Jamaica cherry is widely eaten by children out-of-hand, though it is
somewhat sticky to handle. It is often cooked in tarts and made into
jam.
The leaf infusion is drunk as a tea-like beverage.
| Food
Value Per
100 g of Edible Portion* |
| Moisture |
77.8 g |
| Protein |
0.324 g |
| Fat |
1.56 g |
| Fiber |
4.6 g |
| Ash |
1.14 g |
| Calcium |
124.6 mg |
| Phosphorus |
84.0 mg |
| Iron |
1.18 mg |
| Carotene |
0.019 mg |
| Thiamine |
0.065 mg |
| Riboflavin |
0.037 mg |
| Niacin |
0.554 mg |
| Ascorbic Acid |
80.5 mg |
*Analyses made in El Salvador. |
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Other Uses
Wood:
The sapwood is yellowish, the heartwood red-dish-brown, firm, compact,
fine-grained, moderately strong, light in weight, durable indoors,
easily worked, and useful for interior sheathing, small boxes, casks,
and general carpentry. It is valued mostly as fuel, for it ignites
quickly, burns with intense heat and gives off very little smoke.
Jamaicans seek out trees blown down by storms, let them dry for a while
and then cut them up, preferring this to any other wood for cooking. It
is being evaluated in Brazil as a source of paper pulp.
Bark:
The bark is commonly used for lashing together the supports of rural
houses. It yields a very strong, soft fiber for twine and large ropes.
Medicinal Uses:
The flowers are said to possess antiseptic properties. An infusion of
the flowers is valued as an antispasmodic. It is taken to relieve
headache and the first symptoms of a cold.
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