Sweet cherry, Beach cherry, Cedar Bay Cherry
Eugenia reinwardtiana

Family: Myrtaceae

What it is like

A tree up to 3-6 m tall. It spreads 0.5-2 m across. The bark is smooth and flaky. It is pale brown. The young shoots have short hairs pressed against the stem. The leaves are simple and 2-9 cm long by 1-4.5 cm across. They are smooth and have oil dots along them. The leaf stalks is short (0.2-0.4 cm long). The leaves are fairly thick with a blunt tip. The leaves are shiny on the upper surface. Young leaves are bronze red. The flowers are mostly 1-3 together. The flowers are white and about 1.2 cm across. Both male and female parts occur on the one flower. The fruit occur either singly or in bunches in the angles of leaves. The fruit are 1.5-2.1 cm long by 1.3-2.3 cm wide. When ripe the fruit are red. There is one seed inside. The seed is 0.7-1.2 cm long. The flesh is edible.

There are about 550 Eugenia species. They are mostly in tropical and subtropical South America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is native to NE Australia. It is a tropical rainforest species. Often it occurs in coastal scrub. They can tolerate salt laden winds. They require a well drained soil. Trees will grow in full sunlight or heavy shade. They can tolerate very slight frosts. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

American Samoa, Asia, Australia (country/location of origin), Brazil, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, Hawaii, Indonesia, Marquesas, Micronesia, Niue, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rotuma, Samoa, SE Asia, South America, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Torres Strait, USA

How it is used for food

The flesh of the fruit is eaten. It can be used for jams and sauces.

Fruit are rich in Vitamin C.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

They can be grown from seed. They can also be grown from cuttings but the cuttings are slow to form roots.

Trees are very slow growing but commence flowering while still small. They can fruit after 2 years. Trees flower and fruit throughout the year. Most commonly flowering is June to February with fruit maturing August to March.

Its other names

Local names

Agashiru, Pohon jambu ceri pantai, Unuoi

Synonyms

Eugenia carissoides F. Muell.; Eugenia hypospodia F. Muell.; Eugenia kangeanensis Valeton; Eugenia koolauensis var. glabra O. Deg.; Eugenia macrohila C.T.White & W.D.Francis; Eugenia rariflora Benth.; Eugenia rariflora var. parvifolia Hillebr.; Eugenia reinwardtiana f. lutea H.St.John; Eugenia waianensis O.Deg.; Jossinia reinwardtiana (Blume) Blume; Jossinia tahitensis Nadeaud; Myrtus reinwardtiana Blume;