Otherwise known as the Brazilian Grape Tree, this plant is native to South America, Paraguay, Argentina, but mostly from Brazil. The fruit, a succulent looking purple color can be plucked and eaten straight from the tree, where it grows on the trunk and branches. The Fruit looks as if it has been pined onto the trunk and branches of the Jabuticaba Tree, creating a unique look. The flowers themselves appear on the tree at most twice a year, naturally. They look like some strange alien creature that has deposited itself on the trunk and branches. The habit of flowers doing this makes them cauliflorous. Instead of growing new shoots these plants flower direct from the woody trunk or stem. You might ask why it is this way. The simple answer is that it has evolved in this manner so that animals that cannot climb very high can reach it, eat it and then expel the seeds away from the parent tree to further propagate the species.
If the tree is well irrigated then it will flower and fruit all the year round. The fruit itself is about four centimeters in diameter and has up to four large seeds. The fruit of the tree is used in making delicious jellies, juiced for refreshing summer drinks, and fermented to make wines or strong liquor. After the fruit has matured on the tree in only takes three days before its starts ferment on its own. As well as being used as food the skins can be dried out and used to treat asthma and diarrhea. If your tonsils are swollen you can also use it to try and alleviate the inflammation. It is also hoped that the tree will be useful in the fight against cancer as several anti-cancer compounds have been found in the fruit.
Altogether a useful tree if a slightly strange looking one.
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