Muntingia is a genus of plants in the family Muntingiaceae, comprising only one species, Muntingia calabura,
Description
Muntingia calabura is a shrub or
tree that quickly grows to between 7.5 and 12 m tall, with spreading branches.
The
leaf are
Phyllotaxis,
Phyllotaxis, oblong or lanceolate, 4–15 cm long and 1–6 cm wide, with toothed margin and covered in short hairs.
The are small (up to 3 cm wide), solitary or in inflorescences of two or three flowers, with five lanceolate sepals, hairy, five obovate white petals, many stamens with yellow anthers, and a smooth ovoid ovary.
Its fruit is an edible berry about 1.5 cm in diameter and with smooth, thin skin; they are green when unripe, turning red when mature.
Distribution and habitat
M. calabura is native to southern Mexico, the
Caribbean,
Central America, and western
South America south to Bolivia and Argentina.
It is present in tropical climate in disturbed lowland areas from sea level to 1000 m of elevation.
In South India, it is seen in areas adjacent to the
Western Ghats.
Ecology
This species colonizes disturbed habitats in tropical lowland areas, becoming part of the secondary vegetation, as well as gallery forests.
It thrives in poor soil, able to tolerate acidic and alkaline conditions and drought, but doesn't grow in saline conditions.
The seeds are dispersed by birds and fruit bats.
Although native to tropical America, M. calabura has been introduced in Southeast Asia and naturalized there and in other tropical parts of the world.
Vernacular names
Common names include:
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English language: cotton candy berry, calabur tree, capulin, festival berry, Jamaica cherry,
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Swahili language: Mti kivuli, mharadhali (which actually means mustard, because of its tiny seeds)
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Tagalog language:
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Cebuano language:
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Hiligaynon:
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Divehi language: ޖޭމު, jamu (Maldives)
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Spanish language: cereza, memiso, nigua, bolaina, capulin blanco; chitato, pasito (Colombia), yumanaza, cerezo caspi (Peru)
[ Determinacion del tiempo y temperatura òptima del secado de Muntingia calabura L.(Frutilla, Niguito)]
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French language: bois ramier, cerisier de Panama
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Portuguese: calbura, pao de seda; calabura, curumi, pau de seda (Brazil)
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Swedish language: panamabär
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Tamil language:
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Sinhala: ' (jamfruit tree)
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Kapampangan:
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Kannada:
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India (language not specified): (wild cherry); Company Pazham (Palakkad Walayar area)
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Ilocano language:
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Tagalog language:
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Indonesian:
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Malay language:
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Khmer language:
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Thai language: (ตะขบฝรั่ง)
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Vietnamese: (fish roe fruit)
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Malayalam:
Uses
M. calabura is planted as a source of timber and fuel. Its soft wood is used for rural construction, while the bark is fibrous and used for making ropes.
The fruits are edible and in some cases sold in markets, as they can be eaten raw or processed as jam; leaves can be used for making tea.
It is said to help diabetic patients. A small reduction was recorded in patients' blood sugar levels after consumption .
It is planted as an ornamental species,
The tree is also planted along river banks in Brazil, as fallen fruits attract fish.
M. calabura has a potential as a useful species for restoration of disturbed areas and stopping soil erosion.
Cultivation
M. calabura can be propagated from seed, seedlings, or cuttings.
In Costa Rica, seeds set in the wet season, but require conditions of light and temperature found in forest gaps.
In a test in which seeds were placed in wet paper towel at 25 °C in different lighting conditions, 44% of seeds germinated under white light, while none germinated in the dark.
Cultural references
author
Carl Muller chose this tree as the title for his first novel,
The Jam Fruit Tree. In the novel, the tree represents the
Burgher people of Sri Lanka, "a race of fun-loving, hardy people, much like the jam fruit tree which simply refuses to be contained or destroyed".
The book won the
Gratiaen Prize for the best published work in the English language in 1993.
External links
