Request access

Miracle fruit

Synsepalum dulcificum

A slow, compact shrub with small red berries that contain miraculin, a protein that makes sour foods taste sweet for about half an hour to an hour. It needs acidic soil and is usually grown in a pot.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Synsepalum dulcificum
Origin
West Africa
Tree size
6–10 ft in the ground over many years; usually 3–5 ft in a pot
Growth rate
Slow
Sun
Full sun to partial shade
Soil
Must be acidic: a peat-based, blueberry-style mix. Yellows and declines in limestone or alkaline soil and with hard water.
Soil pH
4.5–5.8
Pollination
Self-fertile; one plant is enough
Cold hardiness
Frost-tender; damaged near 32°F
USDA zones
10–11 (any zone in a pot)
Years to first fruit
2–3 for a nursery plant; 3–5 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
Mildly sweet on its own; afterward, lemons, limes and vinegar taste sweet
Nutrition
Eaten for its taste-changing effect rather than nutrition

Is miracle fruit safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe berry flesh, chewed and then the seed spat out

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Good to know: Sour foods still have their acid after a berry. It's easy to eat lots of lemons or vinegar without noticing, which can irritate the mouth and stomach and wear tooth enamel.
  • Good to know: The seed isn't eaten.

Pets: Not known to be toxic to pets.

How to eat and enjoy miracle fruit

  • Tasting parties with lemons, limes, grapefruit and sour candy
  • Making sour fruit and plain yogurt taste sweet without sugar

When it's ripe

Pick berries when they're bright red and slightly soft. Plants bear in flushes, mostly in warm months.

Storing it

Refrigerate and use within 2–3 days.

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 miracle fruits? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your miracle fruit 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.