Malpighia emarginata Dc.

Erect shrub to small tree to 6(-8) m tall, young branches, petioles and leaves green, strigillose, older branches smooth or more commonly with prominent, whitish or yellowish, round lenticels. Leaves subchartaceous to chartaceous, rarely subcoriaceous, borne laxly along the branches, internodes (2-)3-4(-5) cm long, or more commonly crowded in short shoots, internodes ca. 1.0 mm long; petioles slender, usually glabrous (1-)1.5-3.0(-4) mm long; blades variously el-liptic-obovate, lanceolate-obovate, oblong-obovate or obovate, rarely ovate or widely orbicular-obovate, obtuse, usually emarginate or rarely acute at apex, acute to cuneate or rarely somewhat obtuse at base, (1-)2-5.5(-8.5) cm long, 0.7-2.5(-5) cm wide, smooth, midvein prominent below; stipules free; reddish or green, decidous or not, strigillose when young, becoming glabrous, subulate, ca. 1 mm long. Inflorescence (1-)2-4(-6)-flowered, a sessile or sub-sessile, strigillose to densely strigillose, umbel-like panicle 1.5-2(-2.5) cm long; common peduncle short or none, 0-5(-13) mm long, flowering peduncle (3-)4-7 mm long; bracts and bracteoles 1-1.5(-2) mm long; pedicels (6-)7-10(-12) mm long, ca. 2 times the length of the flowering peduncles; buds unkeeled, subglobose, 3-5 mm diam. Flowers (1-)1.3-1.7(-2) cm diam., sepals densely strigillose in bud and fruit, glands 7-10, posterior glands 1.5-2(-3) mm long, about 1/2 the length of the sepals, anterior glands smaller, 0.5-1(-1.5) mm long or rarely all glands equal in size, posterior petal (6.5-)7.5-9(-12) mm long, lateral petals 5-9 mm long; anterior petals (4-)5.5-6.5(-8.5) mm long; androecium zygomorphic; filaments 3-4 mm long; lateral filaments (and usually the anterior filament too) obviously thicker than the others, curved inwards at anthesis, usually as long as those opposite the sepals; lateral anthers 1.2-1.5 mm long, the others 0.5-1 mm long; pollination gap short, 0-0.5(-1) mm long; gynoecium zygomorphic; styles (Fig. 9E) truncate or rarely somewhat uncinate at apex, lateral styles (2.5-)3-3.5(-4) mm long, obviously thicker and 0.5-1 mm longer than the anterior, curved at the base, usually straight and ascending for the rest, anterior style straight. Fruit subglo-bose, depressed at the poles, 3-9-lobed, 1-3 cm diam., very fleshy; pyrenes ovoid, 0.7-1.5 cm long, 5-12 mm wide, the dorsal wing well developed, to 3.5 mm wide in cultivated plants, small and almost obsolete in wild populations; intermediate wings absent.

A tropical plant. It is native to C and S America. It has poor cold tolerance but can withstand temperatures to near freezing. It can tolerate drought. It can grow with rainfalls around 1,200-1,600 mm per year. Roots are shallow so plants cannot withstand wind. It needs a sunny position for good fruit production. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

The fruit are eaten fresh and especially as juice. They are also used for jellies, preserves, desserts and toppings.

Plants can be grown using seed, cuttings, and grafting. Seed are not always viable and cuttings are easy and improved with rooting hormone. It can be pruned to a shrub. It does best with regular irrigation if rainfall is low. It is suited to limed soils. Boron and iron deficiency can occur if not available.