In the book “Messias das Plantas” Carlos Magdalena, from Kew Gardens, defends plants at risk of extinction. Kew Gardens, close to London, is a key space of botanical diversity.
We have few botanical gardens in Portugal, the best in Lisbon, the one in Coimbra not well kept. In the Algarve we have only one.
My good friend Miguel Boieiro wrote some notes. “The 8-hectare Garden in Madeira, in terraces, has some 2,500 plants from all continents, some 100 indigenous from Flora Laurissilva." It is 300m above sea level, 3km from Funchal. The steep climb is made by cable car, enjoying the beautiful scenery. After wandering through dragon trees, palm trees, strelicia and orchids, you can walk down the slope and there you will see pitangas. Some are now planting them in the Algarve / Alentejo.
Eugenia uniflora, pitanga, Suriname cherry, Brazilian cherry, cerisier carré, is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to tropical South America’s east coast, ranging from Suriname to southern Brazil. It has thin bark and dense branching.
Slowly growing, it is 4m high and loves a tropical or subtropical climate. It has evergreen leaves, opposite, elliptical, bright green. The flower is white, hermaphrodite, with four petals with many stamens. The fruit has round drupes, with longitudinal ridges, green, which when ripening turns intense red. Each fruit has a white, spherical seed.
Pitanga is juicy, bittersweet, with low commercial value because it is fragile and easily damaged; excellent for juice and jam.
It is medicinal. It has essential oil(eugenol), flavonoids, tannins, saponins, pectin, glucose, lycopene, citric acid, vitamins B1, B 2, and C, provitamin A, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and iron. It is diuretic, anti-rheumatic, anti-diarrheal, facilitates salivation and digestion. The leaf, harvested in any month of the year, is used as an infusion for gout and diarrhea. Bark tea relieves pharyngitis and tonsillitis.
In Brazil, artisans make beautiful tool handles with their dark wood. My friends João Cunha and maestro Armando Mota plant them in the Algarve. Delicious and healthy!
