The Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora) is a beautiful shrub/tree which can grow up to 8 metres tall and is the most widely known of the edible-fruited Eugenia species.
I cannot remember where I saw this plant but I know that it is a must have for my garden!! It took some 18 months for the plant to grow to 2 metres and it had not been flowering much nor fruiting until recently.. Now it is a sight to behold!
The flowers are very small but very very beautiful ...
The green fruits ....
See the changing colours of the fruits as they ripen - green, yellow and then orange-red.
These are the beautiful ripened fruits.
The surinam cherry shrub...
The fruits are edible but should only be picked when they ripened until they fall off at a touch. Even then, they cannot be eaten immediately as they are still resinous.The fruits should be halved, de-seeded and keep in a fridge for 2 or 3 hours to get rid of the resinous aroma. The fruits can then be eaten sprinkled with some sugar or as fruit topping (like strawberries) with sugar and cream like strawberries, etc.
Each fruit consist of a single seed, from what I have seen of those I sliced opened. Apparently the seeds are only viable for about a month and germination takes place in about 3 week.
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