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Malpighia glabra
Malpighiaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Malpighia glabra

Malpighia glabra

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
GrowthMedium

Malpighia glabra is a plant of the subtropics to hot, tropical, lowland areas with medium to high rainfall[1, 2]. It can be found at elevations up to 1,700 metres, but does best below 800 metres[3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 24 - 30°c, but can tolerate 5 - 34°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,300 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 2,400mm[3]. Tolerates seasonally dry periods[2]. Easily grown in a good soil and a sunny position[4]. Prefers a rich, deep and well drained soil but is able to tolerate a variety of soil conditions[1, 2]. Sandy soils carry an increasing risk of nematode infection[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7.5, tolerating 5 - 8[3]. Requires a pH in excess of 5.5[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[5]. Plants are fairly tolerant of salt-laden winds[5]. Seedlings can fruit when only 2 - 3 years old, but are not always of as good quality as their parents[4]. Trees start to produce well 3 - 4 years after planting and continue for 15 years[1]. Plants can produce several flushes of flowers each year[5]. The flowers are very attractive to bees[5]. Plants can produce 2 - 3 crops of fruit a year[4]. Individual trees can produce 15 - 30 kilos of fruit each year[1]. Yields of 6.7 - 105 tonnes per hectare have been recorded[3]. Plants usually require cross-pollination to ensure a good fruit set[2], though there are some reports of self-fertilization[1]..

Propagation

Seed - germination is slow, with only 5 - 50% of the seed germinating[1]. Cuttings - cuttings of half-ripe wood, with entire leaves, in a frame with bottom heat[6]. Layering Grafting Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Malpighia+glabra>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  5. [5]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Flowering Plants of Jamaica — Adams. C.D. · University of the West Indies; Jamaica. · 1972 ↩︎A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
  8. [8]Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Second Volume. — Little E.L.; Woodbury R.O.;Wadsworth F.H. · USDA, Forest Service; Washington. · 1974 ↩︎Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 500 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
  9. [9]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  10. [10]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  11. [11]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  12. [12]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  13. [13]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region