Brazil cherry (Eugenia dombeyi) – an underutilized fruit species of the American tropics

Abstract

Introduction. Brazil cherry or grumichama is a little-known, underutilized fruit species of the Myrtaceae family; this tree forms part of CATIE’s field collection of tropical fruits. It is native to southern Brazil and cultivated on a small scale in Brazil, Paraguay, Florida and Hawaii. Materials and methods. Fruit traits were assessed among 12 seedling trees of the same source of origin, and the potential of fresh fruit and derived products was surveyed among employees and students. Results and discussion. Fruit traits (total soluble solids, fruit weight, fruit diameter, flesh weight, seed weight and number of seeds per fruit) differed significantly among the 12 trees. Survey respondents rated derived products such as yellow jam, (red grumichama  +  citrus) jam and (red grumichama  +  mocha) jam higher than fresh fruit, red jam, grumichama wine and juice. Conclusion. Grown in home gardens as an ornamental or as a fruit-bearing tree, or planted as a living fence or windbreak, this fruit crop merits a place in tropical and subtropical settings due to the attractiveness of the tree, its foliage and bloom, its tasty fruit, its contribution to agricultural biodiversity, and the possibility of generating value-added products at the farm, household or community level. For fruit production, vegetative propagation is recommended to retain high quality traits