BYRSONIMA LANCIFOLIA

MALPIGHIACAEAE

 

 

NATIVE NAME: Moreciba-guassú comes from the Guarani and will say “the fruit of resinous drink” and the concept guassú will say “big fruit” in the relation to the other species. Also called as Murici da Mata and Murici guassú.

 

Origin: This species ocurs in the secondary forest formations of the states of Bahia, Goiás and Mato Grosso do sul.  More informations in the Portuguese language under the link:

http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2012/index?mode=sv&group=Root_.Angiospermas_&family=Root_.Angiospermas_.Malpighiaceae_&genus=Byrsonima&species=&author=&common=&occurs=1&region=&state=&phyto=&endemic=&origin=&vegetation=&last_level=subspecies&listopt=1

 

Features: 5-9 m tall tree with oval-shaped crown. The trunk has a thin bark of gray-brown color with a coarse texture and warts or strips in the longitudinal direction. The young branches tomentose (covered with white fuzz) and only the shoots are covered by the felt, always whitish and only the petiole and the veins of older leaves. The leaves are simple, two-color and cardboard-like, the shaft measures 0.9 to 1.8 cm, 0.5 to 0.6 cm layer of rust-colored hair covers it. The sheets are 6-14 cm long and 4-6 cm wide. The flowers are hermaphrodite, actinomorphic (with several levels, by the same axle), pentameric (organized on the basis of the number 5), which appear in 8 to 12 cm long panicles or clusters. The fruit is a drupe, which has a diameter of 1.7 to 2.1 cm.

 

Culture tips: Adapts to any climate, the soil should be deep, sandy with acidic or neutral pH. Should not only be grown in temperate zone with a high incidence of frosts. Tolerate occasional temperatures of 0°C. Can be cultivated at any altitude where the humidity should be between 38% and 85%. Begins with the fruit at the age of 3 to 6 years depending on the culture.

 

Propagation: The cleaned seeds can be stored for 6 months without loss of germination. The sowing should be made directly into individual bags with organic-sandy substrate. The germination is low and is 38-66%, and so should be planted 3 seeds per bag. The bags should be placed in full sun after sowing and receive daily watering. Germination starts after 45 to 80 days and the growth of the seedlings is moderate, up to 40 cm in 10 months.

 

Planting: I recommend planting in full sun at intervals of 5 x 5 m, where the planting holes with a minimum size of 40 cm of length, depth and width should be excavated and be filled to 20 cm high with fertile soil of 8 kg of organic deposited substance, 500 g of ash and 300 g of bone meal. At planting mix 20 g NPK 10-10-10 into the hole. Irrigation is required only in the first few months after planting.

 

Culture: The plant grows quickly and needs no special treatment. Trimming and removal of shoots that grow from the base of the stem and grow inwards into the crown. Fertilize with organic compost, it may be 8 kg poultry manure + 50 g NPK 10-10-10, double the amount every year until 3rd year, after which only the simple amount each year.

 

Use: Bears fruit in the months from May to August. The fully ripe fruits (after 3-4 days of storage) have a very pleasant taste like coconut cake in the enjoyment in kind. They can also be used for the production of jelly, ice cream and other sweets. The flowers provide nectar and pollen for the bees.

 

 

 

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