Jabuticaba (Brazilian Portuguese:[ʒabutʃiˈkabɐ]), also spelled Jaboticaba,[3] is the edible fruit of the jabuticabeira (Plinia cauliflora) or Brazilian grapetree. The purplish-black, white-pulped fruit grows directly on the trunk of the tree, making it an example of 'cauliflory'. It is eaten raw or used to make jellies, jams, juice or wine.[4] The tree, of the familyMyrtaceae, is native to the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Goiás and São Paulo in Brazil.[5][6]Related species in the genus Myrciaria, often referred to by the same common names, are native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia.[7]
The name jabuticaba derives from the Tupi word îaboti Lusitanizedjaboti/jabuti (tortoise) + kaba (place), meaning "the place where tortoises are found";[8] it has also been interpreted to mean 'like turtle fat', referring to the fruit's white pulp.[9][10][11] It could also derive from ïapotï'kaba meaning "fruits in a bud".[12]
The Guarani name is yvapurũ: yva means fruit and the onomatopoeic word purũ, from pururũ,[13] describes the crunching sound the fruit produces when bitten.[14]
Descriptionedit
Plantedit
The tree is a slow-growing evergreen that can reach a height of 15 meters if not pruned. The leaves are salmon-pink when young, turning green as they mature.[15]
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.[16] In its native habitat jaboticabeiras may flower and fruit 5-6 times throughout the year. Jabuticabeira are tropical to subtropical plants and can tolerate mild, brief frosts, not below 26 °F (-3 °C).[9]
The tree has a compact, fibrous root system, that makes it suitable for growing in pots or transplanting.[17]
Fruitedit
The fruit is a thick-skinned berry and typically measures 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.[18] Jabuticaba seeds are recalcitrant and they become unviable within 10 days when stored at room temperature.[19]
Jabuticaba has been cultivated in Brazil since pre-Columbian times. Today it is commercial crop in the center and south of the country.[21]
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.[22] Grafted plants may bear fruit in five years, while seed-grown trees may take 10 to 20 years to bear fruit.[19]
Jabuticabeiras are fairly adaptable to various kinds of growing conditions, tolerating sand or rich topsoil. They are intolerant of salty soils or salt spray.[23] They are tolerant of mild drought, though fruit production may be reduced, and irrigation will be required in extended or severe droughts.[20]
Common in Brazilian markets, jabuticabas are largely eaten fresh.[26] 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 jabuticaba is rare in markets outside areas of cultivation.[21]
Their slow growth and small size when immature make jabuticabeiras popular as bonsai or container ornamental plants in temperate regions.[28] It is a widely used bonsai species in Taiwan and parts of the Caribbean.[29]
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 jabuticaba trees can only grow in Brazil.[32][33]
Related speciesedit
A number of similar species of plant in the family Myrtaceae produce fruit that is also known by the common name Jabuticaba.[20][26]
^Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (2013). Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil. São Paulo. Global. p. 152.
^Ferreira, A. B. H. (1986). Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (second ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira. p. 977.
^Goodwin Gómez, Gale; van der Voort, Hein, eds. (April 17, 2014). Reduplication in Indigenous Languages of South America. Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. Vol. 7. Brill. p. 22974. ISBN 978-90-04-27241-5.
^"Yvapurũ, guapuru, jabuticaba". jungledragon.com. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^Marchiori, Jose Newton Cardosa; Sobral, Marcos (1997). Dendrologia das angiospermas: Myrtales (in Portuguese). Federal University of Santa Maria. p. 304. ISBN 9788573910094.
^ abHernández Bermejo, J. Esteban; León, J. (1994). Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 229. ISBN 9789251032176.
^Suívie (November 10, 2020). "What are jabuticaba berries? Six things you need to know". Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^Van Atta, Marian (2002). Exotic Foods A Kitchen and Garden Guide. Pineapple Press. p. 78. ISBN 9781561642151.
^de Almeida Teixeira, G.H.; Berlingieri Durigan, M.F.; Durigan, J.F. (2011). "11 - Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O.Berg. [Myrtaceae])". Postharvest Biology and Technology of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Cocona to Mango. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition. pp. 246–274. doi:10.1533/9780857092885.246. ISBN 9781845697358.
^Baseel, Casey (20 December 2013). "Are these grapes growing on a tree trunk? Nope! They're Jabuticaba, the otherworldly fruit with an awesome name". Sora News 24. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^Bender, Richard (January 13, 2015). Bountiful Bonsai: Create Instant Indoor Container Gardens with Edible Fruits, Herbs and Flowers. Tuttle Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 9781462916221.
^Lim, T.K. (February 9, 2012). Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits. Springer Netherlands. p. 669. ISBN 9789400725348.
^Motta, Débora (April 8, 2019). 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.
^"A jabuticaba e os vira-latas nacionais". Valor Econômico. 2012-10-22. "Existe só no Brasil e não é jabuticaba? Não presta". Poucos ditados concentram tão bem, em mensagem tão convincente, uma ideia tão equivocada. Translation: "Does it exist only in Brazil and is it not a jabuticaba? It is no good."
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plinia cauliflora.
Jaboticaba California Rare Fruit Growers.
Popenoe, Wilson (July 1914). "The Jaboticaba". Journal of Heredity. 5 (7): 318-326 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.