Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa

Benth.

Finger cherry

MyrtaceaeFruitPotential hazards — see below

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(c) ryanthughes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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(c) djwitherall, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) ryanthughes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Caution

The fruit may be edible in small amounts.

Known Hazards

While it is known that the fruit of this species were eaten by Indigenous Australians without ill-effect, there has been a number of well documented incidents involving European settlers eating the fruit which resulted in them becoming permanently blind. The cases usually involved children, and the ingestion of large numbers of fruit. It has been suggested that unripe fruit or a fungal infection in the fruit may be involved, but as of November 2024 no pathogen or constituent compound of the fruit has been identified as being responsible for the loss of sight, and the cause remains a mystery.

Where to Find It

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows naturally in the rainforest. In tropical Queensland it grows from sea level to 800 m altitude.

Asia, Australia*, Indonesia, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Micronesia, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen

How to Identify

It is a shrub or small tree. It grows to 8 m tall. The bark is brown and papery. The young shoots are covered with grey hairs. The leaves are oblong and 20 cm long by 5 cm wide. They are dull green on the upper surface and paler underneath. The flowers are white or pink. They are about 2.5 cm across. The stamens are easy to see. The flowers occur in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit are long and red when ripe. They are 3.5 cm long.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from fresh seed.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa, commonly known as finger cherry, Cooktown loquat, or wannakai, is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae native to New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and the Australian state of Queensland. Eating the fruits is reputed to cause blindness.

Production

In Australia, flowering occurs from January to June and fruit is ripe from September to October.

Notes

There are about 20 Rhodomyrtus species. They grow in the tropics.

Names & Synonyms

Mumu, Pohon ceri jari

References (12)

Cooper W & Cooper W T, 1994, Fruits of the Rain Forest. RD Press p 244
Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 354
Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 53
Fell, D.G. & Stanton, D.J., 2015: The vegetation and flora of Mabuyag, Torres Strait, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Culture 8(1):1-33. Brisbane. ISSN 1440-4788.
Fl. austral. 3:273. 1867
Isaacs, J., 1987, Bush Food, Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine. Weldons. p 63
Jackes, B.R., 2001, Plants of the Tropics. Rainforest to Heath. An Identification Guide. James Cook University. p 69
Jones D, L, 1986, Ornamental Rainforest Plants in Australia, Reed Books, p 73
Lazarides, M. & Hince, B., 1993, Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia, CSIRO. p 204
Nicholson, N & H., 1994, Australian Rainforest Plants 4, Terania Rainforest Publishing. NSW. p 59
Plants of Papua New Guinea LAE herbarium record
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 490