Eugenia brasiliensis Lam., Myrtaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Eugenia dombeyi (Spreng.) Skeels; Myrtus dombeyi Spreng.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Brazilian cherry, Brazilian plum, Spanish cherry, grumichama

French: cerieier du Japon, cerise du Brésil, jambosier du Brésil, pruneau

Portuguese: grumixameira

Habit:  tree

Description:  "The highly ornamental tree is slender, erect, usually to 25 or 35 ft (7.5-10.5 m) high, short-trunked and heavily foliaged with opposite, oblong-oval leaves 3 1/2 to 5 in (9-16 cm) long, 2 3/8 in (5-6 cm) wide, with recurved margin; glossy, thick, leathery, and minutely pitted on both surfaces. They persist for 2 years. New shoots are rosy. The flowers, borne singly in the leaf axils, are 1 in (2.5 cm) wide; have 4 green sepals and 4 white petals, and about 100 white stamens with pale-yellow anthers. The long-stalked fruit is oblate, 1/2 to 3/4 in (1.25-2 cm) wide; turns from green to bright-red and finally dark-purple to nearly black as it ripens, and bears the persistent, purple- or red-tinted sepals, to 1/2 in (1.25 cm) long, at its apex. The skin is thin, firm and exudes dark-red juice. The red or white pulp is juicy and tastes much like a true subacid or sweet cherry except for a touch of aromatic resin. There may be 1 more or less round, or 2 to 3 hemispherical, hard, light-tan or greenish-gray seeds to 1/2 in (1.25 cm) wide and half as thick" (Morton, 1987).

"Slender tree 25-35 feet tall.  Leaf blades oblong-ovate, 3.5-5 inches long, 1-2.25 inches wide, leathery, glossy, both sides minutely pitted, margins recurved.  Inflorescence in terminal clusters on branches, or flowers solitary, pedicels 1.25-2 inches long.  Flower sepals 4, green; petals 4, white; stamens to 100, anthers pale yellow.  Fruit flattened-globose, 0.5-0.75 inches in diameter, red turning dark purple-black when ripe, flesh juicy, apex capped by persistent sepals.  Seeds 1-3, to 0.5 inches wide, pale tan to greenish gray"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 423).

Habitat/ecology:  The grumichama is subtropical, surviving temperatures of 26§ F (-3.33§ C) in Brazil. It is better suited to Palm Beach than to southern Florida. In Hawaii, the tree fruits best from sea-level to an altitude of no more than 300 ft (90 m). The grumichama does better on acid sand in Central Florida than it does on limestone in the south. It is reported to prefer deep, fertile, sandy loam. Sturrock says it grows well in rich clay in Cuba but is adversely affected by the long, dry season" (Morton, 1987).

Propagation:  Seed (Morton, 1987).

Native range:  Southern coastal Brazil (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 423).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 373) Vouchers cited: DA 1544, DA 5528
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 11506 (PAP) Probablement le seul arbre planté à Tahiti.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby (2012) (p. 70) Voucher cited: J. Parker & R. Parsons BIED111 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim (year unknown) "Lining the side of the Hana Highway at Ulumalu in Haiku, and was also in nearby gulches."
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim (2011) (p. 29) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 090616-01 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1932) (voucher ID: BISH 59801) Taxon name on voucher: Eugenia brasiliensis
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Lau, Alex/Frohlich, Danielle (2013) (p. 9) Voucher cited: T. Marsh 20120405 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1990) (voucher ID: BISH 595956) Taxon name on voucher: Eugenia dombeyi
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 105) Vouchers cited: MacKee 21179, Suprin 2313, Bégaud in MacKee 44146

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 40) Cultivated only

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Comments:  Cultivated and naturalized in La Réunion per Christophe Lavergne, pers. com.

Control:  If you know of control methods for Eugenia brasiliensis, please let us know.