PITANGA TREE... PITANGUEIRA...

This delicate tree is the Pitanga tree, in portuguese named Pitangueira. I see this lovely tree from my studio's window. This tree sprouted and growed by chance, may be the seed was droped by a bird....

Also called Surinam cherry, (Eugenia uniflora) a.k.a. Pitanga and Brazilian Cherry, unlike most other members of this genus, which are native to southeastern Asia, the Surinam Cherry is indigenous to tropical Brazil.

“The Pitanga tree forms a large shrub or a small tree approximately 20 feet in height. The small, opposite, ovate-lanceolate leaves are glossy green, but immature leaves have a coppery color that adds to the ornamental value of this plant. The Pitanga tree makes an excellent hedge, flowering and fruiting even when severely pruned."

"The fruits are about 1 inch in diameter (2.5 cm), although plants bearing fruits nearly 2 inches in diameter have been reported. The mature fruit range from light to dark red. The juicy sweet-acid pulp encloses 1, or sometimes 2, fairly large seeds. Pitanga is probably the best of the edible eugenias and is an excellent fresh fruit. The pulp is a good source of calcium, and a fair source of phosphorus and iron.”

Photos by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

The Pitanga, which are now grown in the U.S., are slightly acid and are eaten fresh, out-of-hand and also can be used to make pies, jellies and jams.

Propagation: It is usually propagated by seeds, cuttings are reportedly easy, and cleft grafts also have been used successfully.

Another specie of Pitanga is the Savannah Pitanga (Eugenia calycina ), also native to drier savannah and scrub land regions of Brazil.

Photo by www.wikipedia.com

JABOTICABA TREE - JABOTICABEIRA

I have in my orchard two "Jaboticabeiras", (Jaboticaba tree), a small evergreen tropical tree native to Brazil. They usually reach only to 10-25ft high, though sometimes up 40ft.
A slow growing tree, it may take 8 or more years before it bears fruit. After flowering, the fruit develops quickly, sometimes in as few as 3 weeks. In this season (October), all the branches of the tree are fruitful.

Then …it’s a delicious feast!

The jabotica averages size is one inch in diameter but can run from 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches, depending on species and variety.

The jaboticaba fruits look like purple grapes and it has a very sweet, slightly aromatic, translucent pulp with a pleasant grape flavour. The whole fruit is consumed fresh. The fruits are often used for making jelly.

Jaboticaba "is a member of the Myrtaceae (Myrtle) family and is known botanically as Eugenia cauliflora. ("Cauliflora" means that it flowers and bears fruit on the trunk, mature branches and exposed roots.). It is a relative of the guava and true myrtle. The word "jaboticaba" is said to have been derived from the Tupi term, jabotim, for turtle, and means "like turtle fat", presumably referring to the fruit pulp. Little known outside their natural range, these members of the myrtle family, are perhaps the most popular native fruit-bearers of Brazil". Generally identified as Myrciaria cauliflora Berg. , the names jaboticaba,
jabuticaba or yabuticaba (for the fruit; jaboticabeira for the tree) actually embrace 4 species of very similar trees and fruits.
Jaboticaba trees grow best on deep, rich and well-drained soil. If the trees are heavily irrigated in the dry season, they may bear several crops a year.
Propagation: By seed, which develop relatively true to their parent but grow slowly, taking up to 8-15 years to fruit. Grafting is also successfull, and can produce fruit in 3 years.

In my next post, I will introduce my beautiful Pitangueira, (Pitanga tree), also
called "Surinam cherry."















Photos by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

LYCHEE, WONDERFUL TREE IN MY ORCHARD

Photo by www.lycheesonline.com

Refreshing shadow!

Photo by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

Flora and Fruits

Photo by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

Photo by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

I have in my orchard many fruit trees. First of all I will exhibit my gorgeous Lychee tree. The Lychee tree was a gift from our friend many years ago. We have two handsome and dense trees in our orchard. Every year, in December, we are blessed by its delicious fruits. Once you peel the skin off, the juicy flesh is white or pinkish, translucent and glossy like the consistency of a grape, but the taste is sweeter. “Lychees have a sub acid sweet taste and have a wonderful freshness to them that is hard to describe. Lychee fruit is high in the antioxidant Vitamin C and the essential mineral Potassium.”

Origin: “Lychee (lē'chē) , originated over 2000 years ago, is a Chinese tree (Litchi chinensis) of the family Sapindaceae (soapberry family), having a small, aromatic, pulpy fruit in a thin, rough shell. The lychee is native to low elevations of the provinces of Kwangtung and Fukien in southern China, where it flourishes especially along rivers and near the seacoast. It is the best-known Chinese fruit and a favorite with the Chinese, who use it fresh, dried, or preserved. The tree is now grown in other warm countries. Among variant spellings are leechee, lichee, and lychee. Litchis are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Sapindaceae”.

Description: The Lychee trees are beautiful hardwoods that can grow 20 to 40 feet tall in a primarily dome shaped habit of growth with dense, evergreen leaves. “The Lychee is, all over the world, considered as the "queen of the fruits" due to the delicacy of its appearance and flavor. Although it was only recently that it started to have economical importance in Brazil, the Lychee is already calling the attention of numerous farmers, mainly those who cultivate citric fruits and/or sugarcane in the State of São Paulo.”


Propagation: “Lychee propagation from seed is unsatisfactory because cultivars do not reproduce true from seed. Seedling trees often take 10 years or more to come into bearing. Lychee seeds are short-lived, losing viability after a few days, and are best planted fresh from the fruit. They should not be refrigerated, because this rapidly destroys viability. The most common method of propagating lychee is air-layering, a technique for inducing a branch to form roots while still attached to the tree, after which it is removed and planted. Air-layering is done when leaves of the previous growth flush have matured. Air-layered trees usually take three to five years from planting to become established and begin bearing.”

Adaptation: “Lychees require seasonal temperature variations for best flowering and fruiting. Warm, humid summers are best for flowering and fruit development, and a certain amount of winter chilling is necessary for flower bud development. Lychees need full sun, but young trees must be protected from heat, frost and high winds.”

In my next post, I will introduce my beautiful Jaboticaba tree, native to the Minas Gerais, region of Brazil. The delicious Jaboticaba is perhaps the most popular native fruit-bearers of Brazil.

CEDARS AT SUNSET

Photos by Sonia A. Mascaro

SUNSET - PÔR-DO-SOL

Photos by Carlos A. Mascaro

AGAVE ATTENUATA: QUEEN OF MY GARDEN

Click on photos to enlarge





My garden is not much tidy and I struggle a lot against a legion of hungry ants. Many times these numerous insects invade my garden, with their jaws open and shut like a pair of scissors, cutting down my flowers and plants. Ants occur worldwide but are especially common in hot climates, like my region. (It’s amazing, 22,000 ant species are expected to live on planet Earth!). But there is a great winner and survival on my garden: the beautiful and imposing Agave attenuata. Agave attenuata is a species of agave (succulent plants) sometimes known as the “elephant’s trunk”, "lion's tail", "swan's neck", or "foxtail" for its development of a curved stem, unusual among agaves. Native to the plateau of central Mexico, it is popular as an ornamental plant in gardens. Chiefly Mexican, they occur also in the southern and western United States and in central and tropical South America.


The stems typically range from 50-150 cm in length, and eventually old leaves fall off, leaving them naked and visible. The plants have a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves generally ending in a sharp point. It may take up to 10 years to bloom. My Agave attenuata take up 20 years to blooming! Attenuata’s flower spike is a thing of wonder, and will either produce greenish-yellow flowers or thousands of small plantlets, on its' entire length. Each plant stalk blooms only once. Unlike other members of it's family this plant doesn't die after flowering.

Agave attenuata are best propagated by digging pups produced at the base of older plants and seeds germinate readily when they are fresh. These plants needs full sun to partial shade, with a well-drained soil mix. I like to make gifts to my friends with an Agave’s pups.

JURUMIRIM DAM

Photo by de Fernando de A. Mascaro

Jurumirim Dam dimension: area 173,359 sq mile; perimeter 799,083 miles and the water's volume 7.007,51 hm³. The water is clean and non-polluted. The Jurumirim reservoir further to being situated in an area of great economic development, in the State of São Paulo, is also a place for aquatic sports, pleasure and tourism activities. Jurumirim was the second hydro-electric utilization of the Paranapanema’s River. The Paranapanema River is a natural limit between the States of Paraná and São Paulo.