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'Acerola' (''Malpighia glabra''), also known as 'Barbados cherry' or 'wild crapemyrtle', is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small tree in the family Malpighiaceae, native to the West Indies and northern South America and also cultivated in India. It grows to 3 m tall, with a dense, thorny crown. The leaves are evergreen, simple ovate-lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in umbels of 2-5 together, each flower 1-1.5 cm diameter, with five pink or red petals.
The fruit is bright red, 1.5-2 cm diameter, containing 2-3 hard seeds. It is juicy, often as much sour as sweet in flavor, and very high in vitamin C and other nutrients. Although resembling a cherry, it is unrelated to the true cherry (''Prunus'').

Contents

Cultivation and uses

External links

Cultivation and uses

The fruit is edible and widely consumed in the species' native area, and is cultivated elsewhere for its high vitamin C content.
In the 1950s, a manufacturer of baby food decided that apple juice was milder for infants than orange juice. The company claimed that a drop of acerola juice in an 8 oz. can of apple juice provided the amount of vitamin C of an equal amount of orange juice.
In Puerto Rico, the acerola is so prized that custom officials exercise considerable precaution to prevent exporting of acerola cuttings.

External links

★ University of Florida: Acerola

★ Columbia Encyclopedia entry on Acerola