Singapore Cherry/Jamaica Cherry – Fruit Plants & Tree

Common names
English: calabur, cherry tree, cotton candy berry, Jamaican cherry, Panama berry,Panama cherry, Panama-berry, strawberry tree, strawberrytree; Spanish: capulí, capulín, cereza, majagua, nigüito; Polynesia: monomona; Argentina: cedrillo majagua; Australia: bird cherry; Belize: calabur tree, capuleen; Bolivia: ovillo, uvilla,uvillo; Brazil: calabura, cereja-das-Antilhas, pau-de-seda; Cambodia: kakhop, krakhob barang; Colombia: acurruco, chirriador, chitato, majaguito, nigua, tapabotija; Cook Islands: venevene; Cuba: capulinas, guácima boba, guácima cereza, guasimilla, memiso; Ecuador: comida paloma; El Salvador: capulín de comer; French Polynesia: cerise; Guam: mansanita, manzanilla, manzanita; Guatemala: capulín blanco; Haiti: bois de soie, bois de soie marron, bois d’orme; India: bird’s cherry, gasagase hannina mara, nakkaraegu, paanchara, Singapore cherry, ten pazham; Indonesia: cerri, kersen; Malay cherry, talok; Jamaica: strawberry tree; Laos: khoom sôm, khoom somz; Malaysia: Japanese cherry, kerukup siam; Maldives: jaam; Mexico: bersilana, bisilana, cacanicua, capolín, capulin, capulín de mayo, capulín manso, capulín real, capulincillo, carecillo, cerezo, guinda, huztlán, huztlán, jonote, juanito, nigua, palmán, poan, puam, puan, puan capulín, puyam, puyán, teresita; Micronesia, Federated states of: terri; Myanmar: hnget thagya, hnget-tangya; Nicaragua: capulín negro; Panama: pacito, pasito, periquito; Peru: bolaina, bolina yamanza, guinda yunanasa, iumanasa, mullacahuayo, mullaca-huayo, yumanaza; Philippines: aratiles, cereza, datiles, latires, ratiles, seresa, zanitas; Singapore: buah cheri; Sri Lanka: jam fruit, jam tree; Thailand: krop farang, ta kob farang, takhop farang; Venezuela: cedrillo, guácimo hembra, mahaujo, majaguillo, niguo; Vietnam: mat sam, trung ca ⁸
Synonyms
Muntingia calabura var. trinitensis Griseb., Muntingia rosea H.Karst. ⁵
Family
Muntingiaceae (muntingia family)
Origin
Southern Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and western South America ⁶
USDA hardiness zones
10-12 ^6,7
Uses
Fruit; small shade tree; backyard tree; large planter; specimen; xerophytic ⁶
Height
25-40 ft (7.5-12 m) ¹
Crown
Irregular or pyramidal canopy ²
Plant habit
Slender tree with spreading, nearly horizontal branches that start close to the ground, sometimes drooping at the tips ²
Growth rate
Extremely fast growing
Longevity
Short lived ³
Leaves
Semi-deciduous; simple; oblong and pointed at the ends; hairy on the underside ¹
Flowers
Small; white; borne in leaf axils; wilt withing hours after they form
Fruit
Berry; round; reddish or yellowish; pulp juicy, musky sweet; minute seeds ⁷
Season
All year on mature trees; flowering and fruiting are interrupted in Florida during the 4 coolest months
Light requirement
Full sun
Soil tolerances
No special soil requirements
Wind tolerance
Branches are prone to breakage in strong winds ¹⁰
pH preference
5.5-6.5 ⁹
Soil salt tolerance
Not salt tolerant ⁹
Cold tolerance
28 °F (-2.2°C)
Plant spacing
20-26.3 ft (6-8 m) apart ¹¹
Invasive potential *
None reported
Pest resistance
No serious pests have been reported, apart from bats and birds which are their distributors ⁷
Known hazard
Falling fruit and bird droppings containing fruit remnants can stain walks and patios ²

In Florida, it has been nicknamed strawberry tree because its blooms resemble strawberry blossoms, but strawberry tree is a well-established name for the European ornamental and fruit tree, Arbutus unedo L., often cultivated in the western and southern United States, and should not be transferred to the Jamaica cherry. ¹
It is the only species in the genus Muntingia in the Muntingiaceae family, formerly Elaeocarpaceae or Flacourtiaceae. ¹⁰

Origin/Distribution
M. calabura is native to tropical America, from Mexico to northern Argentina, but despite not being commercially cultivated has since become pantropical. In the West Indies, as well as Brazil, it has been considered as either native or introduced. Introduced in USA (Florida, California) and the Galápagos Islands. Also widely present and naturalized in Southeast Asia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and many other Pacific Islands. Reported also for Spain, New Zealand, East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), and some islands in the Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Christmas Island and Cocos Islands). ⁸

Description
Fast growing Muntingia calabura forms a distinctive, wide, arching parasol of horizontally layered, softly downy, oblique leaves that are 2-ranked and coarsely toothed. Because its little, drab white blooms are reminiscent of strawberry flowers, M. calabura is known as Strawberry Tree is some regions. ⁷

Leaves
Leaves simple, ovate-lanceolate, 1.5- 5.5 in. (4-14 cm x 1-4 cm), with prominent asymmetry of the leaf blade base; leaf margin serrate. ⁹
The upper surface is dark green with minute sticky hairs and the underside is grey or brown hairy. Normally an evergreen, it does shed most of its leaves in places where there is a marked dry season. ¹¹

Fig. 4	Fig. 5

Flowers
The hermaphrodite flowers 1/4-1/2 in. (1.25-2 cm) wide are born in the leaf axils, singly or in twos or threes with 4-9 days between sequential openings of the individual flowers. Five fine green sepals and five white, sometimes light pink, petals surround many prominent yellow stamens. A range of floral forms exist from flowers with large pistils and a few stamens to flowers with reduced pistils and over 100 stamens. The flowers that open early have fewer stamens and larger pistils. ¹¹

Fig. 10	Fig. 11	Fig. 12

Pollination
The long-stalked flowers are borne continuously at leaf axils on the underside of twigs but last only a day, falling in the afternoons. They are specifically evolved for bee-pollination: their starks elongate to present the bloom to the bees (Fig. 7,12) and then it is retracted below the leaves once pollination has taken place. ⁷
The species is self-compatible and intensive pollination is needed to reach the normal number of several thousand seeds per fruit. ⁹

Fruit
The abundant fruits are round, 3/8 to 1/2 in (1-1.25 cm) wide, with red or sometimes yellow, smooth, thin, tender skin and light-brown, soft, juicy pulp, with very sweet, musky, somewhat fig-like flavor, filled with exceedingly minute, yellowish seeds, too fine to be noticed in eating. ¹
The fruit ripens in 6-8 weeks from anthesis and the life span of the mature leaf is only slightly longer. ⁹
The berries are sold in local Mexican markets and are very popular in the Philippines with children. In most cases it is not a plant cultivated for its fruit and they are usually gathered from spontaneous trees. ¹¹

Fig. 15	Fig. 16	Fig. 17

Fig. 18	Fig. 19

Fig. 15. Jamaica cherry fruit mature and unripe
Fig. 16. M. calabura (Quả cây trứng cá)
Fig. 17. Fruits of Aratiles (M. calabura Linn.) trees in the Philippines

Propagation
Brazilian planters sow directly into the field fresh seeds mixed with the sweet juice of the fruit. To prepare seeds for future planting, water is added repeatedly to the squeezed-out seeds and juice and, as the seeds sink to the bottom of the container, the water is poured off several times until the seeds are clean enough for drying in the shade. ¹
Seedlings flower within two years. Air layers made for home gardens fruit straight away. The seedlings do not tolerate shade. ⁹

Culture
This tropical to near tropical tree grows up to 4000 ft (1200 m) in elevation and can withstand occasional low night temperatures, although it does better in a warm, humid climate. It needs at least 40 in. (1000 mm) annual rainfall. The tree tends to grow in cliffs or river banks, but does not tolerate salt of waterlogged conditions, preferring good drainage. ¹¹
The tree is not particular in its soil requirements; however it thrives on a general fertilising with generous mulching and watering. It will grow quite comfortably in full sun. ⁴

Pests
In Florida, in recent years, the fruits are infested with the larvae of the Caribbean fruit fly. ¹

Caribbean Fruit Fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), University of Florida ^pdf

Diseases
The foliage is subject to leaf spot caused by Phyllosticta sp. and Pseudocercospora muntingiae (formerly Cercospora muntingiae), and the tree is subject to crown gall caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. ¹

Food Uses
The Jamaica cherry is widely eaten by children out-of-hand, though it is somewhat sticky to handle. It is often cooked in tarts and made into jam. ¹

Nutrient Content
Jamaica cherry fruit contains 77.8 g moisture, 0.324 g protein, 1.56-g fat, 4.6 g fibre, 124.6 mg calcium, 84.0 mg phosphorus, 1.18 mg iron, 0.019 mg carotene, 0.065 mg thiamine, 0.037 mg riboflavin, 0.554 mg niacin and 80.5 mg ascorbic acid per 100 g of edible portion. ¹

Medicinal Properties **
In Asia, a decoction of the leaves becomes an antidiarrhetic, a bark decoction is used as an emollient, and an infusion of the flowers for headache relief. ⁴
The flowers are said to possess antiseptic properties. An infusion of the flowers is valued as an antispasmodic. It is taken to relieve headache and the first symptoms of a cold. ¹

Other Uses
A tough, silk-like fibre can be obtained from the bark and is used for lashing supports and making rope. It is also used for basket making. ⁷
The sapwood is yellowish, the heartwood red-dish-brown, firm, compact, fine-grained, moderately strong, light in weight, durable indoors, easily worked, and useful for interior sheathing, small boxes, casks, and general carpentry. It is valued mostly as fuel, for it ignites quickly, burns with intense heat and gives off very little smoke. Jamaicans seek out trees blown down by storms, let them dry for a while and then cut them up, preferring this to any other wood for cooking. It is being evaluated in Brazil as a source of paper pulp. ¹

General
Capulin is a typical pioneer species, colonizing disturbed sites in tropical lowlands which can sustain continuous growth. In South-East Asia it is one of the most common roadside trees, especially in the drier parts such as in eastern Java. It establishes itself in trodden yards and along shop fronts where no other tree takes root. ⁹