THE JABOTICABA 



Interesting Brazilian Fruit Little Studied but Presents Possibilities to Plant 

 Breeders — Causes of its Cauliflory Variation and Hybridization 

 Under Cultivation.' 



Wilson Popenoe, 



Agricultural Explorer, Office oj Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



A MOXCj the many interesting in- diaj^nostic characters will only serve to 

 / \ digenous fruits of central and distinguish trees growing spontaneously 

 I \southern Brazil, few create so in the forests, since culture produces 

 strong an impression on the new- marked variation from the typical 

 comer as the jaboticaba, not only be- characters, and in addition some of the 

 cause of its habit of producing its cultivated varieties are the result of 

 delicious fruit upon the trunk of the tree crosses between the different species, 

 from the ground up, but also because of Barbosa Rodrigues,^ another Brazilian 

 the unusual beauty of its symmetrical, authority, mentions two different species 

 dense, umbrageous head of light-green of Myrciaria whose fruits are known 

 foliage, which entitles it to a place among under the name of jaboticaba, dis- 

 the best ornamental trees of the region, tinguishing them by the fact that the 

 In spite of the popularity of the fruit of M. jaboticaba is small and pro- 

 jaboticaba, which extends to all classes dueed upon a short peduncle, while that 

 of Brazilians, and the fact that it has of M. cauliflora is larger, and sessile; in 

 been cultivated for generations, the addition the leaves of the former are 

 botany of this interesting fruit still larger than those of the latter, 

 remains in a state of confusion. As a To the student attempting to identify 

 general thing all jaboticabas are referred a jaboticaba found growing in a garden, 

 by horticulturists to Myrciaria cauliflora the difficulties arc numerous, and the 

 Berg, yet Berg" distinguished and whole subject seems involved in hopeless 

 defined three species, M. cauliflora, confusion. Not only must he deal with 

 M . trunciflora, and M. jaboticaba, whose species, but the presence of horticultural 

 fruits are all known under the name of varieties must be taken into account, in 

 jaboticaba. Tavares, who gives a key addition to the possibility of crosses 

 for distinguishing these three s])ecies,^ between the different species, as men- 

 adds a footnote to the effect that the tioned by Tavares. 



'The data contained in this article were collected on a recent trip of agricultural cxi)loration in 

 Brazil, in company with A. D. Shamel and P. H. Dorsett of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



■■^In Martius, Flora Brasiliensis, Vol. 14, Pt. 1, p. 362. 1857-59. 



'Tavares, Prof. Joacjuim da Silva, in Broteria, Vol. X, Fasc. VI, p. 422. Bahia, Brazil and 

 Salamanca, Spain, 1912. This key is as follows: 



1. Peduncles of flowers and fruits quite long. Indigenous to 



Minas Geraes Myrciaria trunciflora Berg 



Peduncles short 2. 



2. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, with the base obtuse. 

 Calyx lobes (wate obtuse, ciliated. Indigenous to Sao Paulo 



and Rio de Janeiro M. jaboticaba Berg. 



3. Leaves lanceolate, with the base acute. Calvx lobes lan- 

 ceolate, acute, ciliated. Indigenous to Rio de Janeiro and 



Minas Geraes M. cauliflora Berg. 



*Barbosa Rodrigues, J., Hortus Fluminensis, pp. 220-221, Rio de Janeiro, 1893. 

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