300 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



many of the others it has until recently received little attention 

 outside its native home. 



Among the fruit-trees cultivated in Rio de Janeiro and its 

 vicinity, the jaboticaba is one of the commonest and certainly 

 the one which first attracts the attention of the newcomer. Its 

 habit of producing the fruit directly upon the trunk and larger 

 limbs, together with the unusual beauty of its symmetrical and 

 umbrageous head of pale green foliage, makes this a peculiarly 

 striking tree. The fruit is popular and highly esteemed by all 

 classes of Brazilians, and occupies an important position in the 

 markets. 



When grown on rich soil, the tree reaches a height of 35 or 40 

 feet. The leaves are ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, acute to 

 acuminate at the apex, usually glabrous, and vary from f inch 

 to 3 inches in length. The flowers are small, white, with four 

 petals and a prominent cluster of stamens. They are produced 

 singly or in clusters on the bark of the trunk and limbs. The 

 fruit is round, i to li inches in diameter, maroon-purple in 

 color, and crowned with a small disk at the apex. The skin is 

 thicker and tougher than that of a grape. The translucent 

 juicy pulp, whitish or tinged with rose, is of agreeable vinous 

 flavor. The seeds, one to four in number, are oval to round in 

 outline and compressed laterally. 



The jaboticaba is usually listed as Myrciaria cauliflora, Berg. 

 There are several closely related species, however, whose fruits 

 are all known under the same common name. M. trunciflora, 

 Berg, and M . jaboticaba, Berg, probably furnish many of the 

 fruits sold as jaboticabas in the markets of Rio de Janeiro. 

 Father Tavares considers that the cultivated forms are in some 

 instances the result of hybridization. 



As a wild plant the jaboticaba is limited to southern Brazil, 

 from Rio Grande do Sul to Minas Geraes. It is cultivated 

 in the same area, as well as in a few other parts of Brazil. It 

 has been introduced into the United States and a few other 



