Maesobotrya barteri
| English bush cherry (Maesobotrya barteri) | |
|---|---|
| Order | Malpighiales |
| Family | Phyllanthaceae |
| Genus | Maesobotrya |
| Scientific name | Maesobotrya barteri |
| Common names | English bush cherry |
| Native range | West and Central Africa |
Maesobotrya barteri, the English bush cherry, is a low-branching tree of the high-rainforest understory in West and Central Africa. The typical variety is documented from Sierra Leone through southern Nigeria and western Cameroon to eastern Cameroon and the Congo basin.[1][2]
Description[edit | edit source]
Maesobotrya barteri grows as a low-branching tree that reaches about 10 m in the understory of high rainforest.[2] The typical variety carries fruit about 1 cm long, and the seeds often show a conspicuous caruncle, with endosperm present or absent.[3]
Cultivation[edit | edit source]
The documented habitat is the understory of high rainforest with heavy rainfall, which sets the starting point for garden care. The species is known only from the tropics of West and Central Africa, so it is reasonable to grow it on a tropical, frost-free schedule; the following cultivation notes are inferences from that habitat and stature rather than tested species-specific requirements.[2][3]
Soil and water[edit | edit source]
Rainforest understory soils are deep, moist and rich in organic matter, so a moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil without prolonged drought is the natural starting point. This is an inference from the documented habitat rather than a tested species schedule.[2]
Sun and humidity[edit | edit source]
Understory plants receive dappled light beneath a closed canopy, so filtered or partial shade, especially for young plants, suits the habitat pattern; open, dry, fully exposed sites are not documented. Humidity levels typical of rainforest understory are a reasonable expectation.[2]
Seasonal changes[edit | edit source]
In the southern Nigerian part of the range, fruiting falls in April–June. The April–June window broadly coincides with the regional wet season, and moisture is likely most reliable during those months; that wet-season association is an inference from the southern Nigerian climate, not a tested fruiting schedule. Expect timing to track local rainfall rather than calendar months alone. A pronounced dry season in cultivation should follow the habitat pattern only as an inference.[3]
Propagation[edit | edit source]
In a nursery experiment at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, seeds collected in Abia State, Nigeria, germinated first at 4 days after a five-minute hot-water soak, at 5 days after cold-water soaking, and at 14 days untreated; the authors concluded that hot-water pre-treatment was the most effective in that trial. Seedlings grew in perforated plastic pots of topsoil watered daily, and cow-dung manure changed early seedling growth in the same study. Exact germination percentages and full statistics were not published in the accessible record, so treat this timing as one trial's result rather than a guaranteed schedule.[4]
Flowering, fruiting, and harvest[edit | edit source]
Berries of the typical variety are about 1 cm long, ripening to black-purple, and are harvested and sold in Yoruba markets in southern Nigeria.[2] In the southern Nigerian study area, fruiting spans roughly April to June.[3]
Fruit and uses[edit | edit source]
The typical variety bears succulent, black-purple, edible berries about 1 cm long that stain the tongue.[2] A separate documented variety, Maesobotrya barteri var. sparsiflora, has bright-red, succulent, edible fruit with a slightly acid, refreshing taste, used for jam and tarts; those color, flavor and processing descriptions apply to that variety rather than to the species as a whole.[2]
In one Nigerian collection, dried fruit material measured about 68.9% carbohydrate, 11.4% protein, 7.1% fiber and 7.4% fat on a dry-matter basis, with phosphorus about 312 mg/100 g, magnesium 62 mg/100 g and calcium 51 mg/100 g dry matter. The values come from a single collection under the stated analytical methods and describe those samples rather than a fixed variety or regional profile.[3]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ [2] Maesobotrya barteri var. barteri – Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa (H.M. Burkill, 1985).