James Farwell
Plinia oblongata (Sour Jaboticaba, Jaboticaba Azeda) Seeds
Regular price
$5.00
Plinia oblongata, or Jabuticaba Azeda (Sour Jaboticaba), is native to southeast Brazil and was introduced to the USA around 2016 and began to be offered to collectors shortly there after. It is also thought to be the same cultivar as "Ponhema", on old cultivar rom Brazil, and "Momotaro" coming out of Taiwan and Hong Kong in the rlate 2010's. The cultivar is known for producing almost perfectly globose black fruits up to 4cm diameter with remarkably smooth skin that often have a small nipple at the connection with the peduncle. Our farm harvested our first crop in June 2021 of around 50 fruit and the largest fruit was well under 3cm. This data point tells us little and it is easily possible that the fruit will get larger with subsequent crops. The fruit is indeed slightly sour (but definitely not tart) even when left on the tree for 5 days after they changed color resulting in BRIX levels in the 11-13 range. While this probably the lowest BRIX level of any jaboticaba we have measured, I thinking calling them sour would be misleading; indeed they are slightly sour. The fruit is still enjoyable to eat in large quantities and thus the plant it worth growing. The 8/10 flavor is very similar to a Plinia jaboticaba "Sabara" that was picked a few days too early. The skin is fairly thin and the fruit contains 1-3 seeds that are larger than "Sabara" but certainly not large like Plinia phitrantha seeds. The pulp is more watery near the skin and transitions to a gelatinous membrane sack surrounding the seed that is difficult to remove from the seed. Like most jaboticabas, there is some vascular tissue remnants that continue to disintegrate as the fruit matures but this minor astringency does not distract from the enjoyable juicy texture of the pulp. The pulp has no detectable aroma even when held 1 cm from the nose. The tree is notable for its long lanceolate leaves that create a dense weeping crown. It is a fast grower and flowers as approximately 5 years old. The tree is semi-deciduous losing many leaves during the winter in southwest Florida (USDA zone 10a) and grower in Brazil report 4 - 6 meters tall trees in its native range. Trees fruit at the 5+ years mark. Brix ranged from 11-13 for a sample of 50 fruit which were believed to be ripe when picked. Pulp is 65% pulp of weight.