''Eugenia candolleana'', or rainforest plum, is a tree native from

Atlantic rainforest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, known locally by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

names ''cambuí roxo'' ("purple cambuí") or ''murtinha'' ("little myrtle"). It is quite rare in the wild, and has seen limited use in landscaping for its bright green foliage and purple-black fruits. The species is named after the 19th century Swiss botanist

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candol ...

. The common name ''cambuí'' means "thin-branched tree" in Tupi-Guarani language, and is applied to over 100 different species.

Description

The adult tree is 3–6 m tall, with rounded or conical canopy up to 2 m wide. New leaves are rusty-brown, turning yellow and then deep dark green. The reddish-brown bark peels off naturally showing a smooth reddish trunk. Leaves are simple, in opposite pairs, with smooth leathery texture, smooth edges, and the apex curved downwards. Flowers are borne from November through January; they come in groups of 20 or more stalks, each bearing two flowers, sprouting from the base of leaf stalks.
EUGENIA CANDOLLEANA E MYRCIARIA FLORIBUNDA
' at the Frutas Raras site (in Portuguese). Accessed on 2012-02-27. Fruits mature between February and March. The ripe fruit is a round or slightly elongated berry, up to 20 mm wide and 25 mm long. It has a thin purple-black skin and a wet, firm, whitish pulp about 3–5 mm thick, surrounding a loose single (rarely double) seed. It is edible, moderately sweet, with an aroma similar to (but less intense than) that of the

jabuticaba Jabuticaba is the edible fruit of the jabuticabeira (''Plinia cauliflora'') or Brazilian grapetree. The purplish-black, white-pulped fruit grows directly on the trunk of the tree. It is eaten raw or used to make jellies, jams, juice or wine. Th ...

.Trade Winds Fruit
Rainforest Plum, ''Eugenia candolleana'' a.k.a. Cambuí
Accessed on 2012-02-27.

Cultivation

The tree can be propagated from seeds, is easy to grow and bears fruit after two years. It thrives best in full sunlight and requires good irrigation during the flowering and fruiting seasons.

Uses

The fruit are consumed fresh or made into jams. In the folk medicine of the region of

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

, the infusion of leaves has been used for the treatment of pain and fever.Adriana G. Guimarães, Mônica S. Melo, Rangel R. Bonfim, Luiz O. Passos, Samísia M.F. Machado, Adauto de S. Ribeiro, Marcos Sobral, Sara M. Thomazzi, Lucindo J. Quintans-Júnior (2009) ''Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the essential oil of ''Eugenia candolleana'' DC., Myrtaceae, on mice.'' Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia volume 19 issue 4 The essential oil distilled from the leaves (green 0.14% by weight) contains isomers of

guaiol Guaiol or champacol is an organic compound, a sesquiterpenoid alcohol found in several plants, especially in the oil of guaiacum and cypress pine.The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is a crystalline solid that melts at 92 ° C.Wolfram Alpha ''Guai ...

and cadinol, δ-elemene and viridiflorene.Marcos J. Nakamura, Sérgio S. Monteiro, Carlos H.B. Bizarri, Antonio C. Siani, Mônica F.S. Ramos (2010) ''Essential oils of four Myrtaceae species from the Brazilian southeast.'' Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, volume 38, issue 6, pages 1170–1175

Images

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5407970 candolleana Trees of Brazil

Description

Cultivation

Uses

Images

See also

References