THE MIRACLE FRUIT (2)
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Synsepalum dulcificum
FAMILY: Sapotaceae
The 'Miracle Fruit', is one of the strangest tropical fruits grown in South Florida Rare Fruit Council by growers and home hobbyists. This small, evergreen shrub, native to tropical West Africa grows slowly to a height of 12 to 15 feet. The most unusual thing about the fruit is the effect it has on one's taste after it has been consumed.
The bright, ¾-inch scarlet berries are borne throughout the year, beginning when the plants are about 4 years of age. Most of the fruit is taken up by a single large seed, but the yellowish pulp around it can be sucked off and then for the next hour, anything one eats that is sour has a sweet flavor, as if sugar has been added.
Miracle Fruits like rich, well-drained soils that are acid in pH. On alkaline soils they often are grown in large containers with generous amounts of peat moss for sustained success in fruiting. Plants should be located where they get as much light as possible and should be fertilized every 2 to 3 months with a good quality balanced fertilizer, once or twice a week or more often if they are in very sandy soils.
When plants are small they are subject to damage by frost, so they should be container-grown and kept indoors or moved to protected locations when frost or freeze threatens. Older plants may sustain some leaf and minor twig damage, but can survive temperatures down into the mid-20's (°F) without being killed.
The interest in miracle fruit is such that almost anyone who has a plant, always finds eager volunteers to test its sweetening properties. The fruits themselves are used as a commercial source of artificial sweetener, however large quantities of berries are needed to collect a substantial amount of the sweetener.
When propagating miracle fruit, sow the seeds in a rich, well-drained media, just barely covered, and water lightly every other day. Seeds generally come up in about 8 to10 weeks, but grow slowly the first year, often only being 2 to 3 inches tall at the end of almost one year of growth. It really takes 3 to 4 years before the plants reach a height of more than 15 to 20 inches, and then they start to grow more rapidly.
There are few insects or disease pests associated with the miracle fruit, and since it is so easily containerized, almost anyone can grow this whether they have an outside planting area or not. In fact, many northern seed companies regularly offer miracle fruit seed for sale throughout the United States for people to grow these plants indoors.
Although it can be rooted from cuttings under mist, cuttings generally take a long time to root and don't seem to grow as fast as seedlings. So, in commercial production, almost all miracle fruit are still propagated solely from seed. On large plants it might be feasible to attempt air layerings, or even grafting from bearing ones to seedlings, but I don't know of anyone who has tried it.
DATE: January 1989
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
