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Rhodomyrtus tomentosa
Myrtaceae FAMILY

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa can succeed in tropical and subtropical climates at elevations up to 2,440 metres[1]. The plant requires an annual rainfall that exceeds 1,200mm[1]. Plants can tolerate occasional temperatures dropping to as low as -6°c[2]. Requires a sunny position in a well-drained but moisture-retentive lime-free soil[3]. Prefers a soil with a pH in the range 4 - 6[2]. Plants can tolerate occasional flooding[1]. There are two main forms of the plant. Var. tomentosa is generally found in more harsh environments, up to elevations of 300 metres and rarely up to 1,300 metres[1]. On the other hand, var. parviflora occurs in montane woodlands and grassland at altitudes of 1,800 - 2,700 metres[1]. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become invasive in some of the areas it has been introduced to[4]. Seedling plants can commence bearing fruit when 3 - 4 years old[2], whilst plants raised through cuttings will bear fruit in about 2 years[1].

Propagation

Seed - best sown fresh. Remove the seed from the fruit pulp before sowing[3]. Cuttings. Division of crowns. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Rhodomyrtus+tomentosa>

Pollinators

Insects

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]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.
  4. [4]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  5. [5]Medicinal Plants in Vietnam — Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu · World Health Organisation · 1989 · ISBN 92 9061 101 4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications.
  6. [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]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.