Myrciaria is a genus of large shrubs and small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s native to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, especially Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Common names include Jaboticaba, Jabuticaba, Guaperu, Guapuru, Hivapuru, Sabará, and Ybapuru.

The Jaboticabas are a significant commercial fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, where most species are native. The fruit is grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

like in size and appearance, and often likened to a muscadine grape

Muscadine

Muscadines are a grapevine species native to the present-day southeastern United States that has been extensively cultivated since the 16th Century. It differs from Vitis spp. in its number of chromosomes and its morphology...

 in taste. The flowers and subsequent fruits of M. cauliflora are borne directly on the main trunks.

M. dubia, the camu-camu berry, is grown primarily in flood-zone areas of Peru and has been called the fruit with the highest vitamin C

Vitamin C

Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...

 (ascorbic acid) content of any fruit.

Selected species

• Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O.Berg  (Jaboticaba)
• Myrciaria ciliolata O.Berg
• Myrciaria cuspidata
  Myrciaria cuspidata
  Myrciaria cuspidata is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.-Source:* Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
  
  
• Myrciaria delicatula O.Berg
• Myrciaria dubia (Camu-Camu)
• Myrciaria floribunda (Rumberry)
• Myrciaria glomerata O.Berg (Yellow Jaboticaba)
• Myrciaria jaboticaba
• Myrciaria pliniodes
  Myrciaria pliniodes
  Myrciaria pliniodes is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil.-Source:* Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
  
  
• Myrciaria silveirana
  Myrciaria silveirana
  Myrciaria silveirana is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil.-Source:* Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
  
  
• Myrciaria tenella
• Myrciaria trunciflora (Jaboticaba de Cabinho)
• Myrciaria vexator (Blue Grape)