Fruits On The Trunk ! The Jabuticaba Tree

Fruits on the Trunk! The Jabuticaba Tree

By Brianne Chan

Most people believe that fruits develop from flowers and hang from the branches of trees. While this is the norm, there are several exceptions - one of which is a unique tree whose flowers and fruits grow on the trunk itself!

Figure 1: The Jabuticaba, also known as the Brazilian Grape Tree.

As an eudicot angiosperm, the jabuticaba is one of the more recent plants that appeared in the history of evolution. It belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which includes 140 genera and 3000 species [1]. It is identified among the scientific community as Plinia cauliflora, where cauliflora refers to plants that flower and fruit from woody trunks. The jabuticaba grows its fruit from the trunk to attract

Much like grapes, it can also be fermented to make wine and other liquors, particularly good red wine [4]. The fermentation process begins if the fruit is left at room temperature as soon as three days after harvest [5]. However, the fresh fruit is rarely found in markets outside of the South American region, as its shelf-life is only three days

Aside from culinary uses, the jabuticaba also has medicinal purposes. The skin is dried to treat asthma, hemoptysis and diarrhea, and is useful in bringing down the inflammation of swollen tonsils [3]. Recently, anti-cancer compounds have been discovered in the fruits [5]. There is hope that further research on this plant will reveal some success in fighting cancer.

Unlike other fruit trees that typically flower once in the springtime, jabuticaba trees in Brazil flower twice a year [6]. The white flowers sprout in small groups directly from the woody trunk. Each flower has four hairy white petals and around sixty stamens [6]. Although it flowers naturally twice a year, it is possible to have fresh fruit available year-round if the tree is irrigated continuously [3].

Figure 3: The beautiful white flowers grow on the trunk and develops into a fruit.

The small, round fruit grows directly on the trunk and branches of the tree. As the fruit ripens, it changes from green to dark purple. It develops quickly, maturing twenty to twenty-five days after pollination [6]. Each one is approximately four centimetres in diameter and holds one to four large seeds [3]. The juicy, rosy-white, gelatinous flesh is surrounded by a thick, tough, dark purple skin. The tree itself can grow up to twenty-five feet tall, and has many long, thick, outward-reaching branches. The canopy is dense and rounded and can reach a spread