Jaboticaba - also known as the Brazilian Tree Grape

Jaboticaba or Brazilian Tree Grape 

By Dennis Ting  Gardenworld Nursery

 

A Jabo... what??? you may ask or grapes that grow on trees???  Yes Jaboticaba is the common name for the plant "Myrciara cauliflora" which itself is no easier to say.  

But such a name is befitting of a plant that has some unusual characteristics and produces fruit that are truly delicious and not just merely edible.

In its home country of Brazil where other fruits of the Myrtacacea family originate it is a firm favourite and its fruit is also made into wine there. 

The tree is extremely slow growing and often takes 10 years to reach one metre here in Melbourne.  It has dense evergreen foliage on wiry branches and new growth is a nice red colour.  There are two main types a 'large leaf' and a 'small leaf' form available. 

Its summer flowers are unusual in that they form directly on the mature plant stems and even the trunk of the tree.  These are small and fluffy with small white petals and many stamens and highly decorative. 

The fruit commence as green and quickly swell in size and turn a dark purple colour when ripe.  The fruit of the large leaf form reaches the size of a marble while the small leaf form the size of a blue berry or so here.  The flesh is white inside with a delicious flavour similar to a grape hence its name of tree grape.  

In Melbourne I would recommend container culture for at least the first few years to get the plant acclimatised, established and growing well.  A good tub and terracotta mix would be ideal.  Start with a small container and progressively move up each spring. 

Find a sheltered spot in the garden from strong winds and frost in winter and water well in summer and you can expect your first flowers and crops in three to five years. 

Pruning is not required as the Jaboticaba naturally develops into a nice attractive bushy plant.  Fertilise in spring with a good helping of slow release fertilizer like Osmocote and regulary during the warmer months with a liquid fertilizer like Maxicrop or Powerfeed etc. 

I have both the large leaf and small leaf types growing for 10 years now happily in a 400mm pot and fruiting well for me here in Melbourne. 

So for something different and a real conversation piece plant your own Jaboticaba or Brazilian Tree Grape!!!!! 

Comments

[adam shafran]

hey is the fruit fuzzy for you on your large leaf jaboticaba? I gotta know, because I'm trying to figure out the species or cultivar of this large leaved variety, several exist, but I have one with slightly fuzzy fruit.

[Dennis Ting]

The fruit on my large leaf jaboticaba are smooth and glossy black like a grape. The small leaf jaboticaba fruit are similar but smaller. I believe my trees are from seeds. The yellow jaboticaba has larger leaves and has fruit which are yellow and slightly fuzzy. They probably hybridise readily too between the three.