Request access

Jaboticaba

Plinia cauliflora

A slow-growing Brazilian tree that bears grape-like purple-black fruit directly on its trunk and branches. It fruits in flushes several times a year and makes a striking, shrubby ornamental.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Plinia cauliflora
Origin
Southeastern Brazil
Tree size
10–15 ft in most gardens; can reach 30 ft over many years
Growth rate
Slow
Sun
Full sun to partial shade
Soil
Rich, moist, acidic soil. Yellows and struggles in alkaline limestone, salt or dry ground.
Soil pH
5.5–6.5
Pollination
Self-fertile; one tree is enough
Cold hardiness
Mature trees take brief dips to about 26–28°F; young trees are hurt near 32°F
USDA zones
9b–11
Years to first fruit
4–8 for a grafted or layered tree; 8–15 from seed
Season
Year-round
Water
About every 4 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 60 days, Mar–Sep
Taste
Sweet, juicy and grape-like with a slight tang, inside a thick, slightly astringent skin
Nutrition
Skin is rich in anthocyanins; good source of vitamin C

Is jaboticaba safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe pulp, squeezed from the skin
  • Skins, cooked into jelly and preserves

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Good to know: The skin is high in tannins. Eating lots of skins can irritate the mouth and stomach, so most people spit them out.
  • Good to know: Fruit ferments within a few days of picking; don't eat any that taste off.

Pets: Not known to be toxic. A few ripe fruit are unlikely to harm a dog; seeds and skins can upset the stomach.

How to eat and enjoy jaboticaba

  • Fresh, squeezed from the skin straight off the trunk
  • Jelly and jam
  • Wine and liqueur (Brazil)
  • Juice and syrup

When it's ripe

Fruit ripens about a month after flowering. Pick when it's fully black-purple, glossy and slightly soft.

Storing it

Eat within 2–3 days, refrigerated. Freeze whole fruit for jelly or juice.

Jaboticaba varieties (4)

  • Escarlate

    A jaboticaba with scarlet-red skin when ripe instead of black.

    Origin: Brazil · Taste: Sweet

  • Grimal

    A large-fruited jaboticaba, often sold as a separate species, that bears fairly young.

    Taste: Sweet, slightly tart · Size: Large

  • Paulista

    A large-fruited jaboticaba with thick skin.

    Origin: Brazil · Taste: Sweet · Size: Large

  • Sabará · also Sabara

    The most common jaboticaba, with small, very sweet fruit and the heaviest crops.

    Origin: Brazil · Taste: Very sweet · Size: Small

    Slow to start bearing.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing jaboticabas? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your jaboticaba needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

Request access

General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.