ODONTOCARYA ACUPARATA  

POPULAR NAMES: ACAPARATA, UVA DO MATO AMARELA, ABÚTUA AMARELA, YELLOW FOREST BERRY

MENISPERMACEAE

 

 

INDIGENOUS NAME: ABÚTUA comes from the Tupi guarani: Çapó-yutik-á, which was this: Capo by Ab; Yutik-á by utuá which mean "herb with root that turns to potatoes" this is the very striking feature in most species.

Origin: South America, occurs in all the forests and damp hillsides and generally limestone soil of the Atlantic Forest, Amazônica and the Pantanal of Mato Grosso.  

Characteristics: The climbing plant is a stem winder, woody, lenticels (small salient points of breathing), covered with papyraceous, thin and peeling bark,  of vigorous growth, with simple, opposite, cordate-based (like a heart) leaves and acuminate apex  (long taper) under long and glabrous petiole (stem or support). The flowers are male or female and appear in racemes on separate plants in the axils of leaves or branches of defoliated specimens.

Planted in the site of Frutas Raras: October 2003, bear fruit in January 2006 for the first time.

Tips for cultivation: Fast growing climber which resists low temperatures (to -4°C (25°F)), and grows from sea level to altitudes above 1,000 m (3,333 feet). The soil should be deep, moist, neutral, with sandy or clay formation (red soil). You must plant at least 2 plants to improve production, preferably from cuttings, so select only the female plant that produces fruit. We must make a espalier with horizontal wires forming a mesh of 40 cm (1 1/3 feet) between wires to sustain the plant.

Propagation: The seeds are hard, elongated and labeled it by the teeth in one end (that being the reason for the scientific name of the genus (odontocarya - with teeth). Germination occurs in 30 to 60 days in any type of substrate rich in organic matter and is ready to plant in 5 months after sowing. The best method of reproduction is propagation by hardwood cuttings of 20 cm in length, planted in spring and summer, so the fruit will begin 1 year after planting.

Planting: Can be planted in full sun and shade in forests with large well spaced trees, in this situation it takes longer to bear fruit. Space between plants 4 x 4 m (13 feet). The espalier should have 6 pillars, in the distance of 2 m (7 feet) between themselves and 3 m (10 feet) between the pairs, with height of 1.60 m (5 1/3 feet) to facilitate the harvesting of fruits. Add 1kg of lime and 1 kg of ash and 8 liters of organic matter to the hole. Water every fifteen days during the first 3 months if water is lacking. 

Cultivating: Make only form pruning and remove shoots that were grown from the base of the stem, manage the branches by a tutor until they are fixed at the espalier. Fertilize with organic compost, may be (4 liters) poultry litter + 50 g of NPK 10-10-10 in the months of November and December, distributed them  to 30 cm  (1 foot) from the stem.  Keep mulch around the foot to maintain humidity.

Uses: The fruit rind is yellow, soft, slightly bitter and edible, the pulp is translucent and sticky, tasting sweetish. Can be consumed in-kind, but more usually used only as food for appeal in the absence of larger fruit. The fruit can be used to make liquor.  

Flowering in the site of Frutas Raras: November to January.

Fruiting in the site of Frutas Raras: January to February.

 

 

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