Eugenia capuli
(Schltdl. & Cham.) O. Berg.
Capuli
MyrtaceaeFruit
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(c) Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
(c) Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Hermann Bojórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Hermann Bojórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Hermann Bojórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Hermann Bojórquez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The ripe fruits are edible, though they have little pulp.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant.
Belize, Central America, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, North America,
Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 3-4.5 m tall. The leaves are narrowly oval and 4-6 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. They narrow to a rounded tip. They are wedge shaped at the base. There are about 15 flowers in a group. The petals are white. The fruit are red and turn black when ripe. They are 3-4 mm across. They are edible but with little pulp.
Other Uses
The wood is useful only for fuel.
Other Information
It is cultivated in some places.
Names & Synonyms
Capulin, Temazate
Eugenia contrerasii LundellEugenia lindeniana O. BergEugenia schiedeana Schltdl.Myrtus capuli Schltdl. & Cham.
References (5)
- Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.wdt.qc.ca)
- Ibarra-Manriquez, G., et al, 1997, Useful Plants of the Los Tuxtlas Rain Forest (Veracruz, Mexico): Considerations of their Market Potential. Economic Botany, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 362-376
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 351
- Piedra-Malagón, E. M., et al, 2022, Edible native plants of the Gulf of Mexico Province. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e80565 p 26
- Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
