Myrtillocactus eichlamii
Britton & Rose
(c) Enrique Flores, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Enrique Flores
(c) Carlos Jiménez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
Fruit - raw. An excellent flavour, the taste has been likened to that of the kiwi fruit, Actinidia deliciosa. The red-purple, globose fruit is 5 - 9mm long, occasionally with small scales. Flowers - an excellent flavour.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant.
Central America, Guatemala,
How to Identify
A cactus. It is treelike. There are several branches which stick upwards. The stems are blue green. There are 6 rounded ribs. The spine buds have a central spine 7 cm long and about 5 spines around it in a ring. The flowers are creamy white and 4 cm long by 3.5-5.5 cm across. The fruit are round and purple to red. They are covered with white wax. They are edible.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Myrtillocactus eichlamii is a species of Myrtillocactus found in Guatemala.
Other Information
It is a cultivated food plant.
References (2)
- Anderson, E.F., 2001, The Cactus Family, Timber Press. p 473
- Hernandez-Lopez, D., et al, 2008, Myrtillocactus (cactaceae): botanical, agronomic, physicochemical and chemical charasteristics of fruits. Fruits, Vol. 63, p. 269-276
