Common Name: Calabura

General Information

Muntingia calabura is a rapidly growing, small, evergreen shrub or a tree with a short, broad, spreading crown; it can grow from 3 - 12 metres tall[]. The short bole can be up to 20cm in diameter[]. The lower branches often touch the ground[].
The tree is occasionally cultivated for its edible fruits[]. It flowers and fruits over a long period, even on young plants[, ]. There are both red and yellow fruited forms[]. It is also sometimes grown as an ornamental and amenity shade tree[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Western S. America, north to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Habitat

Well-drained limestone banks and in thickets at elevations from sea level to 600 metres in Jamaica[]. A typical pioneer species, colonizing disturbed sites in tropical lowlands[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	9.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 32°c, but can tolerate 10 - 36°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,400 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 2,400mm[].
Probably tolerant of most soil types[]. The tree has the reputation of thriving with no care in poor soils and it does well in both acid and alkaline soils and even on old tin tailings[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[, ]. Established plants are drought resistant[]. The plant requires a sheltered position, the wide-spread branches tend to break in high winds[].
The tree is often cultivated as an ornamental and shade tree. With its ability to colonise disturbed ground, even on well-trodden land that other trees cannot become established, this tree has spread to many areas of the tropics[, ]. It has proved to be invasive in many regions[].
Seedlings flower within two years due to their fast growth[, ]. Air-layered plants fruit straight away[].
The plant can establish itself in trodden yards and along shop fronts where no other tree takes root, and it can also withstand the air pollution in city streets[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. A sweet juicy flesh, they are very good to eat out of hand and can also be used in jams, tarts, pies etc[, ]. It has a light-brown, soft, juicy pulp, with a very sweet, musky, somewhat fig-like flavour, filled with exceedingly minute, yellowish seeds that are too fine to be noticed in eating[]. The fruit is intensely, almost nauseatingly, sweet[]. The fruit is much loved by children[]. The red (occasionally yellow), fruit is about 12mm in diameter and has a high vitamin C content[].

A tea is made from the leaves[, ]. The leaf infusion is drunk as a tea-like beverage[].

Medicinal

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[, , ].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree has an incredible property for very quick establishment. It is a typical pioneer species and is found colonizing disturbed sites in tropical lowlands[].

Other Uses

The pliable bark can be used as rough cordage[]. 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[].

The wood is valued in Brazil as a source of paper pulp[].

The sapwood is yellowish and the heartwood is reddish brown, firm, compact, fine grained, moderately strong, light in weight, durable indoors and easily worked. It is useful for interior sheathing, making small boxes, casks and general carpentry[].
The wood is soft and is valued mostly as fuel as it ignites quickly, burns with intense heat and gives off very little smoke. It is also used as wood for cooking[, , ].

Propagation

Seed - The seed requires light to germinate[]. Fresh seed germination is enhanced by passage through the digestive tract of bats and birds. The seed is well represented in the seed banks of forest soils and requires high temperature and light conditions for germination[]. The seedlings do not tolerate shade[].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood
Air layering.


Planters use fresh seeds mixed with the sweet juice of the fruit to sow directly into
the field. To prepare seeds for 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. They are then dried in the shade.

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