EUGENIA BRASILIENSIS AND VARIETIES
FAMILY OF MYRTACEAE
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Flowers |
Variety Iocarpus with black fruits |
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Variety Leucocarpus with yellow fruits |
Variety Erythrocarpus with large red fruits |
NOMENCLATURE AND MEANING: GRUMIXAMA comes from the Tupi, and means ”Fruit which is pulling to the mouth to eat". Also called as Grumixame, Grumixaba, Cumbixaba, Comichã and Ibaporoití. There are botanically 3 varieties of Eugenia brasiliensis existing: var. erythrocarpus with large and red or reddish fruits; iocarpus with black fruits and the leucocarpus with yellow fruits.
Origin: Orignates to the Atlantic Rainforest from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul. More informations in the Portuguese language under the link:
Features: 3 to 6 m tall tree (in the forest up to 15 m high) with conical or pyramidal, compact crown with long-living foliage, the trunk is short and cylindrical, with gray-green bark, which peels off in thin strips lengthwise. The leaves are shiny and bare (hairless). The leaf has leathery texture (such as leather), is obovate (inverted with the widest part toward the top) and long (longer than wide). It measures 6 to 13 cm long and 4 to 6 cm wide. The petiole attaches 1, 5 cm, base cuneate, and the tip is short and rounded. the flowers are single, cyclic (distributed in several cycles) and wrapped twice and measured 2.5 cm in diameter and appear singly in the leaf axils or in groups of 3 to 5 flowers. These flowers have vaulted outer shells with four free sepals that are 1 cm long and the corolla has four white petals.
Culture tips: Fast-growing plant, enjoys any type of soil with good fertility and rapid rain water drainage, can withstand frosts down to -3°C. The plant bears abundant fruit in full sun, should get more water at the time of flowering and fruit. It begins with the formation of the fruit in the age of 3 to 4 years depending on the climate and culture. It can also be grown in the shade, where they will fruit well enough.
Propagation: The seeds are round and lose their ability to germinate in dry storage and germinate in 30 to 60 days, if planted into the substrate is made of 50% of the red soil, 30% organic matter and 20% sand. They can be planted in pots, and when they have become 10 cm in size, they can be transplanted into individual containers. The seedlings should be planted in the shade and can reach 30 cm in 10 to 12 months.
Planting: I recommend a planting in full sun at distances of 5 x 5 m or 6 x 6 m. The planting holes should be 50 cm in all dimensions and be filled 30 cm high of mixed substrate consisting of 30% sand, 6 shovels of organic material, 500 g of lime and 1 kg of wood ash and leave them for two months. The best planting time is from October to November. After planting and every 15 days in the absence of rain water with 10 liters of water.
Culture: The plant grows quickly and requires no special care, but the soil surface should be covered with grass clippings and weeds are weeded, the otherwise stifled the plant. At the end of the winter should be cut to remove the excess shoots that grow from the base of the trunk and into the inside of the crown. Fertilize with 4 kg of organic compost from well mixed chicken manure and 30 g of NPK 10-10-10. Fertilize 5 cm deep and 20 cm from the trunk in early October.
Use: Bears fruit in the months from October to December. The fruits are delicious for consumption in kind or for the production of juices, sweets, cakes fillings and ice cream. The tree is ornamental and optimal for city plantings and flowers are producing honey.
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