Price range: $11 through $38.50
The Brazilian Cherry Plant (Eugenia uniflora L.) produces deeply ribbed berries that resemble miniature pumpkins. Native to South America, this evergreen shrub brings both edible fruit and glossy foliage to the garden.
In Brazil, people use its juice for vinegar and wine, alongside familiar jams and jellies. Its aromatic leaves also have a place in domestic tradition: households scattered them across floors to release their scent underfoot.
Despite its familiar name, this fruit belongs to the myrtle family rather than the true cherries. Common names include Brazilian Cherry, Brazil Cherry, Surinam Cherry, Suriname Cherry, Cayenne Cherry, Florida Cherry, French Cherry, Red Brazil Cherry, Pitanga, Pitanga Cherry and Barbados Cherry. That last name also refers to acerola, a different fruiting plant.
Delicate white flowers feature a brush of prominent stamens and attract visiting bees. Bronze young leaves mature to glossy green, adding colour between harvests.
The thin-skinned berries develop through orange and red shades as they ripen. Their juicy flesh offers a distinctive sweet-tart flavour, sometimes with a resinous note. Let fruit ripen fully for the best eating quality and remove the seeds before preparing it.
Enjoy the vitamin C-rich fruit fresh, or turn your harvest into jam, jelly, syrup or sauce. Spring flowers can bring late-spring fruit in warm conditions, although harvest timing varies with climate.
Grow this perennial as a fruiting shrub, clipped hedge or container specimen. Allow approximately 3 m in height and width with pruning; unpruned plants can grow considerably larger.
Choose a sheltered position in sun or partial shade, with rich, compost-enriched soil that drains freely. Water regularly during establishment and fruit development, and mulch to help retain moisture. Protect young plants from frost and prolonged drying.
Prune selectively, since frequent clipping can reduce your crop. Harvest promptly and remove unwanted seedlings to limit bird-spread seed.
For more unusual fruit, explore our Jaboticaba Tree and Yellow Grumichama Plant.
Your plant arrives healthy or we send you a free replacement
Fresh and hard-to-find plants, herbs, and seeds added every week.
We are a whatsapp, email or call away, we'll get back to you in 24 hrs
