Muntingia

Jamaica Cherry, Panama Cherry, Strawberry Tree--- call it what you will, Muntingia calabura is one of the more interesting minor subtropical fruit trees. Actually, the name of Strawberry Tree is best avoided, since apart from being green and red, respectively, the tree and fruit are not the least bit like a strawberry, and there are other species with this moniker. The fruit is not very cherry-like, either, so the best handle just might be Muntingia.

It's a very fast-growing small-to-medium-sized tree, doing well in a wide range of soils, and drought-tolerant. On the other hand, it can withstand only a light freeze, and can't take salt exposure. Not unattractive in growth habit or bloom, it produces ample amounts of fruit through the summer and fall. The half-inch berrylike fruit is sweet, with numerous tiny seeds not noticed in eating. Its flavor strongly resembles pink cotton candy, and most people find it appealing.

Muntingia is grown from seed and fruits within a couple of years. For those short on space, or in salt environments, it can fruit readily in a container.

As with many fast-growing trees, the wood of Muntingia is not strong. My first Muntingia tree perished after climbing raccoons stripped off its branches, one-by-one in a series of nightly raids. I had bought it at a tree sale, and wasn't eager to shell out more bucks for another. But last year I took home a few fruits from the big Muntingia at Palma Sola Botanical Park, squashed three of them and dropped them into small pots, and thinned several hundred little sprouts down to three new trees.

One of them grew much better than the others, and I recently planted it in my northwest grove, the one least frequented by the masked marauders. Here it is, looking cheerful after all the recent rain. Of the remaining pair, one went to a friend, and the other will be a backup, at least until next spring's tree sale.

The gang at Tropical Fruit Forum reports widely differing experiences with Muntingia, so much so that one might suspect there are different varieties or subspecies under discussion. Commenters in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Broward County report extensive root suckering, as far away as 50 yards from the tree, while the majority have had no such problem. Some find the seeds as easy to start as mine were, others have had considerable difficulty with propagation. Some authorities recommend full sun, but Forum posters suggest part shade. That is my intuition about the plant, as well, and an oak tree shelters mine from afternoon sun.

Muntingia takes well to pruning, and a south Sarasota friend has one he's kept at eight feet that sports a hefty trunk several inches in diameter. That's my plan, as well, to get little Muntie tough enough to stand up to those ring-tailed meanies.

Unless one is intimidated by the occasional report of root suckers, Muntingia is an easy tree that will provide a sweet treat through the warm season.