Eugenia michelii Lamk

Evergreen shrub or tree, up to 7 m tall, with spreading, slender, sometimes crooked branches. Leaves opposite, ovate to lanceolate, 2.5-6 cm x 1.5-3 cm, base rounded or slightly cordate, apex obtuse to shortly acuminate, glabrous, glossy, pellucidly dotted, bronze when young, dark green when mature, turning red in cold, dry weather. Flowers fragrant, 1-4 together in leaf axils, creamy white, about 1 cm in diameter; calyx tubular, 8-ribbed, 4-lobed; petals white, 7-11 mm long; stamens 50-60. Fruit a pendulous berry, depressed globose in outline, 1-4 cm in diameter, 7-8-ribbed, greenish when young turning to orange during development, bright red to blackish when mature; skin thin, flesh orange-red, juicy, acid to sweet, slightly resinous. Seeds 1 large or 2-3 smaller ones, flattened. Two types are distinguished: the most common form has bright cerise fruit and red-tinged foliage; the other form has dark-red to black berries and similarly tinted leaves; the latter is rarer and tends to be sweeter and less resinous.

Flowering and fruiting may start when 2 years old under favourable circumstances, usually it starts when 5-6 years old, on the flushes of the previous season or basal part of the shoots of the current season. The fruits develop and ripen quickly, only 3 weeks after anthesis. Flowering and fruiting continue over an extended period (6-8 weeks) and, depending on the climate, there may be several crops in a year.

It grows in almost any type of soil and withstands temporary waterlogging, but it is intolerant of salt.

Brazil cherry is rather cold-tolerant and will stand several degrees of frost unharmed. It thrives best in full sun and requires only moderate rainfall. It withstands a long dry season. In the Philippines it grows up to 1000 m altitude, in Guatemala up to 1800 m.

Usually Brazil cherry is propagated by seed. Seed keeps its viability for about 1 month; germination is within 3-4 weeks. Propagation by layering or grafting is possible as well.

Plantation: Plants are set out 3-4 m apart or planted in hedged rows at spacings of 5 m x 1-2 m. Plants are most productive if left unpruned for a number of years. Fruiting is promoted by application of fertilizers and fruit development responds positively to irrigation.

Diseases: Sometimes diseases such as leaf-spot, thread blight, anthracnose, twig dieback and root rot occur. Pests: Brazil cherry is attractive to fruit flies, scale insects and caterpillars.

Ornamental: Because of its peculiar, bright-coloured fruits Brazil cherry is often planted as an ornamental. Boundary or barrier or support: It used to be popular as a hedge plant, becoming densely branched when trimmed regularly.

Food: Brazil cherry is grown for its edible fruit which can be consumed fresh or made into jam, jelly, relish or pickles. Poison: Crushed leaves release a pungent oil which is used as insect repellent. Tannin or dyestuff: The bark is rich in tannin and used to treat leather. Medicine: A leaf infusion is used in Brazil and Surinam as a stomachic, febrifuge and astringent. In Java fruits are used to reduce blood pressure. Alcohol: In Brazil the juice is fermented into vinegar or wine; sometimes a distilled liquor is prepared.