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Posoqueria acutifolia
COMMON NAMES: Fruta de Macaco, Landim, Bacupari do Brejo and Monkey Fruit
RUBIACEAE
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INDIGENOUS NAME: Posoqueria comes from the Tupi-Guarani and means "strong to drink", because the Indians use the seeds of this fruit to make one kind of coffee.
Orgin: Occurs in the southern Atlantic Rain Forest, in the semideciduious forest (loose the foliage yearly in one season) from Sulda da Bahia to Santa Catarina, at least also into the Pantanal und also in the Amazonas region in Brazil.
Characteristics: The landim is one 13 to 26 feet (4 to 8 meters) tall evergreen tree with pyramidal crown of one diameter of 7 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters), with branched trunk with trunk diameter of 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 cm), with one thin, raw and creamy colored bark. The leaves are simple, entirely, hairless, leathery (stiff consistence) and are going into opposed stipules, which are 8 to 12 mm long. The inflorescences and bunches (with numerous blossoms at the same time at the main axis) contain 4 to 15 stalked blossoms of greenish color.
Planted in the site of Frutas Raras: February 2001, flowered for the first time in 2006 and fruited for the first time in 2007.
Tips for cultivation: This species can be grown in the subtropics and the tropics. Does adapt to every altitude and every soil, only it is necessary to enrich the soil with sufficient amounts of organic substance and mulch, because the plant does occur only in fertile, moist or in clay soils with roots reaching to the groundwater level in the nature.
Propagation: The seeds are polyedric (with many edges), translucent and creamy yellow. If the seeds are fresh, they germinate after 30 to 90 days, the plant will begin to fruit after 8 years. The plants grow slow and are outplanted in the age of 8 months. The development is the best, when the plants are regulary watered or planted on places where the groundwater level is not deep.
Planting: Can be planted into one soil with consistent moisture, enriched with organic matter and with pH around of 5.6. Space requirement is 17 x 17 feet (5 x 5 meters). Holes should be filled of 40% of organic compost, 40% of sand, clay, 1 kg lime and 1 kg ash up. After planting water with 20 liters of water every week during the first 3 months, then only if it did not rain for 30 days.
Cultivating: Cut to form the crown and remove the branches, which are growing from the false parts or at the places and preventing the throughcoming sun insolation into the crown, so thin the crown out. Fertilize with bio compost, can be 8 liters + 50 g of NPK 10-10-10, the double amount from the first to the third year. Distribute the nutrients 2 inches (5 cm) deep and in the distance of 20 inches (50 cm) from the trunk. Mulch with dry grass or every kind of mulch matter to keep the moisture constant.
Uses: The fruits are eaten only in-kind and the seeds can be used as coffee substitute. The tree is ornamental.
Flowering in the site of Frutas Raras: November to December.
Fruiting in the site of Frutas Raras: May to July.
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