Eugenia biflora

(L.) DC.

Escobon, Murta

Myrtaceae Edible: Fruit 253 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 3-4 m high. The twigs have a brown coating amongst white hairs. The leaves are sword shaped. They are 7 cm long and 1-3 cm wide. There are 3-7 flowers in a group. The flowers are white. The fruit is a slightly flattened round berries. They are 7 mm long. They can be slightly ribbed.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw. The sweet-tasting fruits are eaten throughout the plant's range. The pinkish/red to dark purplish or bluish-black, oblong to subglobose fruits are around 6mm long and nearly as thick, containing a single large seed.

Traditional Uses

The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. In Puerto Rico it grows it grows up to 700 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Andes, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, Suriname, USA, Venezuela, West Indies,

Cultivation

Grows best in a sunny position. Succeeds in calcareous soils.

Other Uses

The sapwood is light brown and hard.

Synonyms

Caryophyllus fruticosus Mill.Eugenia acuminatissima Miq. Eugenia amanuensis Steyerm.Myrtus biflora L.

Also Known As

Arrayan, Coralillo, Hoja menuda, Murtinha, Pitanguera

References (10)

Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.wdt.qc.ca)
Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 235
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 350
Little, E. L., et al, 1974, Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. USDA Handbook 449. Forestry Service. p 644
Lopez-Diago, D. & Garcia, N., 2021, Wild edible fruits of Colombia. Biota ColomBiana 22 (2) p 44

Show all 10 references

Martin, F.W., C.W. Campbell and R.M. Ruberté, 1987, Perennial edible fruits of the tropics - An inventory. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 642. Washington, D.C., USA
NYBG herbarium "edible"
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu/antilles/West Indies
Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793