eugenia

Cherry of the Rio Grande, Eugenia involucrata. Small multi-branching tree or shrub. In the spring it is one of our early flowering tropical fruits and often blossoms in the first part of March. Blooming and fruiting season continues for several months into Summer. The delicious cherry, beautiful dark red to purple, produced soon after flowering. When ripe the the fruit can turn almost black and have a full cherry-like flavor. The plan is ideal for limited space landscapes since it can be kept as a bush or even as a container specimen and still produce adequate quantities of fruit. A relatively hardy plant, it can tolerate as low as low 20's F when mature.

Grumichama, Brazilian Cherry. This compact tree has beautiful glossy green leaves up to 3-4 inches long and one to two inches wide, with leathery texture, and the new growth is a wine reddish color before it matures. Fruits follow quickly in about four weeks after flowering. They are about one inch or larger, purplish black in color with large seeds and excellent melting flesh that has almost the flavor of a northern cherry. Eaten fresh and used in jelly. The Grumichama makes an excellent container plant and will fruit quite nicely in a five to ten gallon-size container.

Pitomba is the most slow growing of all Eugenias. Fruit ripens in 4-6 weeks. Fruiting season is May-July, sometimes there is also a light Fall crop. The apricot-color, round to pear shaped fruit has soft, melting, juicy flesh with a highly aromatic slightly acid flavor. Not only color, but also taste is comparable to an apricot. The fruit is rich in vitamin C. They are good eaten fresh or made into jelly and preserves. Being very slow growing, the plant is suitable for container culture (fruit quite well in seven-to-ten-gallon-sized containers) or as a dwarf fruit tree specimen. Mature trees are quite cold hardy and take down to upper 20's F, young plants are more sensitive and need to be protected in case of frost.

Black Surinam Cherry, Pitanga var. Black Star, or Lolita. Black fruited Surinam Cherry starts as red and turns black as it ripens.
It has exceptional flavor. The plant is vigorous and ready to fruit the same year. The fruit is very sweet, without aftertaste, large 1-1.2 inch, very juicy. Reliable producer. Hard-to-find. The tree is upright, freely branching.
These cherries are cold hardy and can take short periods of frost. Once established, the plant can withstand upper 20's without damage. The seedlings come true to seed.
See video about this plant.
Learn more: Surinam Cherry Lolita and Bermuda Christmas Pie

Black Surinam Cherry, Pitanga var. Black Star, or Lolita. Black fruited Surinam Cherry starts as red and turns black as it ripens.
It has exceptional flavor. The plant is vigorous and ready to fruit the same year. The fruit is very sweet, without aftertaste, large 1-1.2 inch, very juicy. Reliable producer. Hard-to-find. The tree is upright, freely branching.
These cherries are cold hardy and can take short periods of frost. Once established, the plant can withstand upper 20's without damage. The seedlings come true to seed.
See video about this plant.
Learn more: Surinam Cherry Lolita and Bermuda Christmas Pie

Surinam Cherry, Pitanga. Very popular bush or small tree with aromatic sweet-n-sour juicy fruit. Can be used as a hedge, has nice dense foliage. Reliable producer of very tasty, special fruit.

Cabeluda, Yellow Jaboticaba - rare exotic fruit tree. Fruits are sweet and aromatic, with a flavor similar to apricot.

Similar to the Cherry Rio Grande (Eugenia aggregata), but with larger fruit (2" fruit) and doesn't have the same problem with die back as the Cherry Rio. Fruit flavor is said to be superior to the Cherry Rio. Heavy producer. Fruits March-April.