Characteristics
A shrub or small tree. It loses many leaves during the year. It grows 1-5 m tall. The trunk is smooth. The leaves are papery and 1.5-2 cm long. They are opposite. The flowers are in pairs in the axils of leaves. They are white. The fruit are round and bright red. They are 1-2 cm across. They have 1 seed and a thick pulp.
| Life form |
-
|
| Growth form |
tree
|
| Growth support |
-
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| Foliage retention |
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| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
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| Spread |
-
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| Mature width (meter) |
-
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| Mature height (meter) |
2.0 - 4.0
|
| Root system |
-
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| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
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| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
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| Blooming months |
-
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| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
A tropical plant. It grows naturally in seasonal and isolated forests in central Brazil. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,300 m above sea level.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
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| Soil texture |
-
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| Soil acidity |
-
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| Soil nutriment |
-
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| Hardiness (USDA) |
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Usage
The fruit are eaten fresh. They are also used for jellies.
Cultivation
Plants are grown from seed. Seeds are collected from ripe fruit by shaking the branches over canvas and putting the fruit in plastic bags to allow them to partly decompose so that the seeds can be washed out under running water. Seeds need to be planted fresh in light shade. Seedlings emerge in 30-40 days.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
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| Germination temperacture (C°) |
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| Germination luminosity |
-
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| Germination treatment |
-
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| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
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| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
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| Size |
-
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| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
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