Muntingia

''Muntingia'' is a genus of plants in the family Muntingiaceae, comprising only one species, ''Muntingia calabura'', named in honour of Abraham Munting. It is native from Mexico south to Bolivia and Argentina. Its fruit is edible, and it has been widely introduced in other tropical areas.

Description

''Muntingia calabura'' is a shrub or tree that grows fast up between 7.5 and 12 m tall with spreading branches. The leaves are alternate, distichous, oblong or lanceolate, 4–15 cm long and 1–6 cm wide, with toothed margin and covered in short hairs.

The flowers are small (up to 3 cm wide), solitary or in inflorescences of two or three flowers, with five lanceolate sepals, hairy, five obovate white petals, many stamens with yellow anthers, and a smooth ovoid ovary. The flowers last only one day, their petals drop in the afternoon.

Its fruit is an edible berry with about 1.5 cm wide in diameter and smooth, thin skin; they are green when unripe turning into red when they are mature. Its pulp is light-brown and juicy, with very fine seeds; the pulp tastes like fig.

Distribution and habitat

''M. calabura'' is native to southern Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and western South America south to Bolivia and Argentina. It is present in tropical climate in disturbed lowland areas from sea level to 1000 m of elevation. In South India, it is seen in areas adjacent to the Western Ghats.

Ecology

This species colonizes disturbed habitats in tropical lowland areas, becoming part of the secondary vegetation, as well as gallery forests. It thrives in poor soil, able to tolerate acidic and alkaline conditions and drought, but doesn't grow in saline conditions.

The seeds are dispersed by birds and fruit bats.

Although native to tropical America, ''M. calabura'' has been introduced in Southeast Asia and naturalized there and in other tropical parts of the world.

Vernacular names

Common names include:

* English: cotton candy berry, calabur tree, capulin, festival berry, Jamaica cherry, Panama berry, strawberry tree, ornamental cherry, jamfruit tree, Singapore cherry, West Indian cherry
* Swahili: Mti kivuli, mharadhali (which actually means mustard, because of its tiny seeds)
* Filipino:
* Cebuano:
* Hiligaynon:
* Divehi: (Maldives)
*Spanish: (Colombia), (Peru) (Ecuador)
* French:
* Portuguese: (Brazil)
* Swedish:
*Tamil:
* Sinhala: ' (jamfruit tree)
*Kapampangan:
*Kannada:
*India (language not specified): (wild cherry); ''Company Pazham'' (Palakkad Walayar area)
* Iloko:
* Tagalog:
* Indonesian:
* Malay: ''
* Khmer:
* Thai: (ตะขบฝรั่ง)
*Vietnamese: (fish roe fruit)
*Malayalam:

Uses

''M. calabura'' is planted as a source of timber and fuel. Its soft wood used for rural construction, while the bark is fibrous and used for making ropes.

The fruits are edible and in some cases sold in markets, as they can be eaten raw or processed as jam; leaves can be used for making tea. Also, traditional medicinal uses have been reported for the leaves (headaches, prostate problems, reduce gastric ulcers), bark (antiseptic), flowers (antiseptic, reduce swelling, antispasmodic), and fruits (respiratory problems; antidiarrheic).

It is said to help diabetic patients. A small reduction was recorded in patients' blood sugar levels after consumption .

It is planted as an ornamental species, for shade, and also because the flowers are a source of nectar and pollen for the beekeeping industry.

The tree is also planted along river banks in Brazil, as fallen fruits attract fish.

''M. calabura'' has a potential as a useful species for restoration of disturbed areas and stopping soil erosion. It also offers shelter for wildlife, as it is a source of food for about 60 species of birds and mammals.

Cultivation

''M. calabura'' can be propagated from seed, seedlings, or cuttings. In Costa Rica, seeds set in the wet season, but require conditions of light and temperature found in forest gaps. In a test in which seeds were placed in wet paper towel at 25 °C in different lighting conditions, 44% of seeds germinated under white light, while none germinated in the dark.

Cultural references

Sri Lankan author Carl Muller chose this tree as the title for his first novel, ''The Jam Fruit Tree''. In the novel, the tree represents the Burgher community of Sri Lanka, "a race of fun-loving, hardy people, much like the jam fruit tree which simply refuses to be contained or destroyed". The book won the Gratiaen Prize for the best published work in the English language in 1993.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile: ''Muntingia calabura''Claude Lévi-Strauss: The use of wild plants in tropical South America

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10333250, from2=Q1915507

Monotypic Malvales genera
Muntingiaceae
Trees of Northern America
Trees of South America