Malpighia emarginata

Botanical Description

Malpighia emarginata is a much-branched evergreen shrub or small tree growing around 2 - 8 metres tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. , 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. The plant is widely cultivated in tropical areas for its edible fruit, there are some named varieties[ 301 Title Cornucopia II Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications, California. Year 1998 ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 Description The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc. ]. It is grown especially in Puerto Rico, from where it is exported in quite large quantities as a health juice to the United States. The plant is also used locally as a mediine and is sometimes grown as a hedge. Malpighia emarginata is the most common Malpighia species in cultivation, and it has been introduced pantropically for the harvest of the fruits, due to its high vitamin C content. The large scale cultivation of the species means that little is known about the population of the species in the wild. The plant is classified as 'Data Deficient' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].