PlantFiles: Acerola, Barbados Cherry, Wild Crapemyrtle
Malpighia glabra

amazing tree, excited when it fruited twice, now onto it's 5th fruiting this summer - wow.....what to do with all the fruit, raw/jam/jelly/cordial? Flavour is divine, depending on ripeness, can even taste like feijoa which is a real favorite but difficult to grow here in Australia, fruit fly love to bite feijoa and ruin them.

This is a small shrubby plant, which produces profusions of pink flowers followed by small (pea-sized) fruit.
It spreads readily to form a mound of foliage and flowers which is very attractive.
The fruits, IMO, are quite dry and tasteless and too small to bother collecting to eat or make jellies or for cooking. Still, it is a beautiful plant.
The other species, emarginata and juncifolia, make large, cherry-sized fruit that is very tasty and juicy.

I purchased the dwarf variety of Acerola last year. It has been a disappointment because of how slowly it grows. The plant basically looks the same now as it did a year ago when i planted it. My wife's school has some that are around 15 years old that are still tiny. Maybe not right for San Antonio, TX.

I really like this plant. When it blooms, it's just delightful. A little bit unpredictable on blooming, but that's okay. It attracts insects and buterflies. It also is a host plant for certain skippers.

I grow this tree for the wonderful pink flowers and sort of weeping limbs. Sometimes I cut a twig and add to a vase flower arrangement. I notice butterflies and birds are attracted to the flowers and fruit. Very hardy in my yard once established.

I've never grown this plant, but in my Puerto Rican neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, frozen juice/nectar is readily available and it is very delicious and a beautiful color as well.

This plant can be used both as decorative, or for the fruits. The pink flowers and red fruits are ornamental. These fruits are tasty, juicy, and can be eaten in natura, or in juices. The acerola is also reputated as one of the fruits with the highest levels of vitamin C.

It lives confortably in tropical climates, and isn´t very demanding on soil types, as long as it´s well drained. Regular watering, high temperatures and full sun are necessary.

Either a small tree or large shrub. It's native to the West Indies and Central and South America. The leaves have the color and texture of holly leaves--dark green and almost brittle. The fruit is very tasty and very high in vitamin C [up to 2,000 milligrams per 100 grams of edible flesh], maybe the highest of all fruit. Peak bloom time is April-May when it is a mass of small pink flowers.