jabuticaba

The name jaboticaba derives from the Tupi word îaboti Lusitanized jaboti/jabuti (tortoise) + kaba (place), meaning "the place where tortoises are found";{{cite book |title=Exotic Fruits Reference Guide |first1=Sueli |last1=Rodrigues |first2=Ebenezer |last2=de Oliveira Silva |isbn=9780128031537 |publisher=Academic Press |date=January 5, 2018 |page=237}} it has also been interpreted to mean 'like turtle fat', referring to the fruit's white pulp.{{cite web |url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=302521 |title=Plinia cauliflora |website=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=January 3, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/F_N-20.pdf |title=Jaboticaba |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources |first1=Ken |last1=Love |first2=Robert E. |last2=Paull |date=June 2011}}{{cite book|last=Navarro|first=Eduardo de Almeida|title=Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil. São Paulo|publisher= Global|year= 2013| page=152}} It could also derive from ïapotï'kaba meaning "fruits in a bud".{{cite book|last=Ferreira|first= A. B. H.|title=Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa|edition=second|location=Rio de Janeiro|publisher=Nova Fronteira|year=1986|page=977}}

The Guarani name is yvapurũ: yva means fruit and the onomatopoeic word purũ, from pururũ,{{cite book |title=Reduplication in Indigenous Languages of South America |series=Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas |volume=7 |editor-first1=Gale |editor-last1=Goodwin Gómez |editor-first2=Hein |editor-last2=van der Voort |isbn=978-90-04-27241-5 |publisher=Brill |date=April 17, 2014 |page=22974}} describes the crunching sound the fruit produces when bitten.{{cite web |url=https://www.jungledragon.com/image/35777/yvapur_guapuru_jabuticaba.html |title=Yvapurũ, guapuru, jabuticaba |website=jungledragon.com |access-date=January 3, 2021}}

{{stack|File:Jabuticaba (1).jpg}}

File:Myrciaria cauliflora leaves.jpg

The tree is a slow-growing evergreen that can reach a height of {{convert|15|meters}} if not pruned. The leaves are salmon-pink when young, turning green as they mature.{{cite book |title=Dendrologia das angiospermas: Myrtales |last1=Marchiori |first1=Jose Newton Cardosa |last2=Sobral |first2=Marcos |publisher=Federal University of Santa Maria |date=1997 |page=304 |language=pt |isbn=9788573910094}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.deerfield-beach.com/DocumentCenter/View/13948 |title=Myrciaria cauliflora: Jaboticaba; Brazilian grapetree; jabuticaba; ybapuru |last=Brown |first=Stephen H. |website=deerfield-beach.com |publisher=University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences |access-date=January 3, 2021 |format=pdf }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In their native habitat, jaboticaba trees may flower and fruit five to six times throughout the year. Jaboticaba trees are tropical to subtropical plants and can tolerate mild, brief frosts, not below 26 °F (-3 °C).

The tree has a compact, fibrous root system, that makes it suitable for growing in pots or transplanting.

The fruit is a thick-skinned berry and typically measures {{convert|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.{{cite book|last=Boning|first=Charles|title=Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs and Vines|year=2006|publisher=Pineapple Press, Inc.|location=Sarasota, Florida|page=104}} Jaboticaba seeds are recalcitrant and they lose viability within 10 days when stored at room temperature.

In Brazil, the fruit of several related species in the Plinia and Myrciaria genera share the same common name.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuluBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |last1=Duarte |first1=Odilo |last2=Paull |first2=Robert |title=Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World |year=2015 |publisher=Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International |page=51 |isbn=9781780645056}}

Jaboticabas have been cultivated in Brazil since pre-Columbian times. Today, the fruit is a commercial crop in the center and south of the country.{{cite book |title=Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective. |first1=J. Esteban |last1=Hernández Bermejo |first2=J. |last2=León |isbn=9789251032176 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |date=1994 |page=229}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2020/10/what-are-jabuticaba-berries-six-things-you-need-to-know |title=What are jabuticaba berries? Six things you need to know |author=Suívie |date=November 10, 2020 |access-date=January 3, 2021}} Grafted plants may bear fruit in five years, while seed-grown trees may take 10 to 20 years to bear fruit.{{cite journal |title=Advances in the propagation of Jabuticaba tree |first1=José |last1=Antonio Alberto da Silva1 |first2=Gustavo |last2=Henrique de Almeida Teixeira |first3=Antonio |last3=Baldo Geraldo Martins |first4=Idemir |last4=Citadin |first5=Américo |last5=Wagner Júnior |first6=Moeses |last6=Andrigo Danner |doi=10.1590/0100-29452019024 |journal= Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura|volume=41 |issue=3 |date=July 1, 2019|doi-access=free |hdl=11449/185866 |hdl-access=free }}

Jaboticaba trees are fairly adaptable to various kinds of growing conditions, tolerating sand or rich topsoil. They are intolerant of salty soils or salt spray.{{cite book |title=Exotic Foods A Kitchen and Garden Guide |first1=Marian |last1=Van Atta |isbn= 9781561642151 |publisher=Pineapple Press |year=2002 |page=78}} They are tolerant of mild drought, though fruit production may be reduced, and irrigation will be required in extended or severe droughts.

Jaboticaba trees are vulnerable to the rust, Austropuccinia psidii.{{cite web |url=https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/uhmgpd/Diagnose/Fruits/Jaboticaba/Spots-on-fruit-and-flowers |title=Spots on Fruit and Flowers |website=University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources |access-date=January 4, 2021}} particularly when the tree flowers during heavy rain. Other important diseases that affect jaboticaba trees are canker (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), dieback (Rosellinia), and fruit rot (Botrytis cinerea).{{cite book |title=Postharvest Biology and Technology of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Cocona to Mango |first1=G.H. |last1=de Almeida Teixeira |first2=M.F. |last2=Berlingieri Durigan |first3=J.F. |last3=Durigan |chapter=11 - Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O.Berg. [Myrtaceae]) |series=Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition |doi=10.1533/9780857092885.246 |publisher=Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition |year=2011 |pages=246–274 |isbn=9781845697358 |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781845697358500115}}

Image:Jaboticaba bonsai, June 7, 2008.jpg

Common in Brazilian markets, jaboticabas are largely eaten fresh.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjHCoMQNkcgC&pg=PA536 |title=The Encyclopedia of Fruit & Nuts |editor-first1=Jules |editor-last1=Janick |editor-first2=Robert E. |editor-last2=Paull |isbn=9780851996387 |publisher=Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International |date=2008 |page=536}} 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 jaboticaba is rare in markets outside areas of cultivation.

The fruit has been compared to Muscadine grapes,{{cite book |title=Tropical & Subtropical Trees: An Encyclopaedia |author=Margaret Barwick |page=290 |year=2004 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-0881926613}} and in Japan the flavor of jaboticaba has been described as similar to that of Kyoho grapes.{{cite web |url=https://soranews24.com/2013/12/21/are-these-grapes-growing-on-a-tree-trunk-nope-theyre-jabuticaba-the-otherworldly-fruit-with-an-awesome-name/ |title=Are these grapes growing on a tree trunk? Nope! They're Jabuticaba, the otherworldly fruit with an awesome name |first1=Casey |last1=Baseel |date=20 December 2013 |publisher=Sora News 24 |access-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807101049/https://soranews24.com/2013/12/21/are-these-grapes-growing-on-a-tree-trunk-nope-theyre-jabuticaba-the-otherworldly-fruit-with-an-awesome-name/ |url-status=dead }}

Their slow growth and small size when immature make jaboticaba trees popular as bonsai or container ornamental plants in temperate regions.{{cite book |title=Bountiful Bonsai: Create Instant Indoor Container Gardens with Edible Fruits, Herbs and Flowers |first1=Richard |last1=Bender |isbn=9781462916221 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |date=January 13, 2015 |page=59}} It is a widely used bonsai species in Taiwan and parts of the Caribbean.{{cite book |title=Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits |first1=T.K. |last1=Lim |isbn=9789400725348 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |date=February 9, 2012 |page=669}}

File:Vino de jaboticaba.jpg produced by Italian Brazilians since the 19th century.Motta, Débora (April 8, 2019). [https://siteantigo.faperj.br/?id=3742.2.1 Vinho artesanal de jabuticaba: uma alternativa para o desenvolvimento do Noroeste Fluminense] Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro in Portuguese. Retrieved June 26, 2023.]]

The jaboticaba tree appears as a charge on the coat of arms of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fotw.info/flags/br-mg-ct.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031839/https://www.fotw.info/flags/br-mg-ct.html|url-status=dead|title=Contagem, Minas Gerais (Brazil)|archive-date=Oct 1, 2007|website=www.fotw.info|accessdate=Jul 27, 2024}}

In Brazilian politics, and less commonly in everyday speech, "jabuticaba" is a slang that describes a political or legal setting that is considered absurd, unusual, or needlessly complex, among others, that could only exist in a country like Brazil. It is a reference to the popular wisdom that jaboticaba trees can only grow in Brazil.{{cite web|url=https://istoe.com.br/297651_JABUTICABA+POLITICA/|publisher=Istoé|title=Jabuticaba Política|date=2013-05-15}}{{cite web|url=http://www.valor.com.br/brasil/2874126/jabuticaba-e-os-vira-latas-nacionais|publisher=Valor Econômico|title=A jabuticaba e os vira-latas nacionais|date=2012-10-22|quote={{lang|pt|"Existe só no Brasil e não é jabuticaba? Não presta." Poucos ditados concentram tão bem, em mensagem tão convincente, uma ideia tão equivocada.}} "Does it exist only in Brazil and is it not a jabuticaba? It is no good." Few sayings concentrate so well, in such a convincing message, such a mistaken idea.}}

A number of similar species of plant in the family Myrtaceae produce fruit that is also known by the common name jaboticaba.

• Myrciaria glazioviana ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba amarela}} or yellow jaboticaba)
• Myrciaria tenella ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba macia}} or soft jaboticaba)
• Plinia coronata ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba coroada}} or king jaboticaba)
• Plinia grandifolia ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba graúda}} or large jaboticaba)
• Plinia martinellii ({{lang|pt|jabuticabinha da mata}} or little forest jaboticaba)
• Plinia oblongata ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba azeda}} or sour jaboticaba)
• Plinia peruviana ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba cabinho}} or small stemmed jaboticaba)
• Plinia phitrantha ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba branca}} or white jaboticaba)
• Plinia rivularis ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba de cacho}} or bunched jaboticaba)
• Plinia spirito-santensis ({{lang|pt|jabuticaba peluda de cruz}}, hairy cross jaboticaba, or grimal in the United states).

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons}}

• [https://crfg.org/?s=Jabuticaba Jaboticaba] California Rare Fruit Growers.
• [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/45076#page/340/mode/1up Popenoe, Wilson (July 1914). "The Jaboticaba". Journal of Heredity. 5 (7): 318-326] via Biodiversity Heritage Library.

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1973619}}

Category:Plinia

Category:Plants described in 1956

Category:Plants used in bonsai

Category:Crops originating from the Americas

Category:Crops originating from Brazil

Category:Tropical fruit

Category:Flora of Southern America

Category:Fruits originating in South America

Category:Cauliflory

Category:Crops originating from Peru

Category:Fruit trees

Category:Berries