Jaboticaba - Plinia Diversity - the Tip of the Iceberg a Fraction of What Exists

[FlyingFoxFruits]

premieres later tonight...

https://youtu.be/5jCPBNOMM7M

[FlyingFoxFruits]

part 2:

https://youtu.be/307Cgc08_90

[Mike T]

Sure is a lot of 'plasticity' going on and the number of varieties is getting crazy. I look at my brother's jab collection and its mind boggling. I think it was 1976 that many of our most familiar species were described and were known only from cultivation. Wouldn't it be nice it there was a shake up and reclassification to assign all the varieties to their species but many will no doubt be hybrids. Maybe lump whites and phitrantha together, erect a new one or two and get back to basics. It seems many say coronatas don't conform with their original description and this seems to hold for many of the varieties now that still have a species name attached.

[Mike T]

I think if you're in the market for Plinia diversity, think outside the clade and further up the genetic tree rather than only focussing on small variations within similar species. I think some of the really 'different' Plinias that are the big guns are ones like Cambuca, giant P. inflata and even standard mulchi, shawi, that new peruvian whopper that I forgot the name of and yasuna being examples.

[Mango Stein]

Perhaps you were thinking of Plinia clausa, or Plinia valenciana? Though some of these species in the genus could be renamed soon. Because if Aline Stadnik has her way, a good deal of jaboticabas will become Guapurium. Then the Prince of Plinia will just be the Geek of Guapurium.

The varietal names really are getting over the top. Ruby this, velvet that... and children don't ever google peluda (hairy). Personally I'm still holding out for the Diamond 'n Silk jaboticaba.

[Mike T]

MS I was thinking of that new one Jim West has and is it clausa? While the Master of Myrciaria, the Jam of Jabs almost work, the grand duke, Cartouche and kumar of Guapurium are not very catchy. I think unless we have their classification and phylogeny a bit more sorted we wont know how much diversity there is and how much each person has in their backyard.