Common Name: Barbados Gooseberry

General Information

Barbados gooseberry is an erect, spiny woody shrub when young, becoming, with age, scrambling or climbing and vine-like, with stems up to 10 metres long that may shroud a large tree[]. Although the plant is a cactus, it is not easily recognised as such since it is not succulent and has leaves[].
The plant is seldom found truly wild but is frequently grown as an ornamental or occasionally for its fruits in the American tropics, Bermuda, California, Hawaii, Israel, the Philippines, India and Australia[]. There are some named varieties[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. America - coastal northern South America, West Indies and Panama.

Habitat

Naturalised in thickets besides railways near sea level in southern China[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental

Cultivation Details

A plant of hot, tropical climates with medium to high rainfall.
Requires a well-drained soil. An easily grown plant, flourishing with little or no care, the plant is drought-tolerant and suffers from over-watering[]. Under high light intensity, it can be kept erect and compact; under low light, it grows higher, with ascending stems and the leaves are larger and thinner[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5[].
The plant has been widely introduced into tropical areas, where it has often escaped from cultivation[]. Gardeners had to give up the plant in South Africa in 1979 when it was banned as an illegal weed because it had been invading and overwhelming natural vegetation[].
The flowers are said to be of great value to bees[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. They are generally stewed or preserved with sugar, or made into jam[]. The fruit is round, oval or pyriform, lemon- or orange-yellow or reddish, 1 - 2 cm wide, with thin, smooth, somewhat leathery skin[]. It is beset with the curling, leafy sepals of the calyx and often a few spines, until fully ripe, when it is juicy and subacid to tart[].

Young shoots and leaves - raw or cooked[, ]. They can be eaten in salads in the same way as purslane (Portulacca spp.), or added to cooked dishes and eaten as greens[, ]. They are an important food in parts of rural Brazil[].

Medicinal

The leaves are valued for their emollient nature and are applied on inflammations and tumours[].

Other Uses

Often used as a rootstock on which to graft other less vigorous cacti[].

Propagation

Seed -
Easily grown from cuttings of half-ripe wood[].

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