Author Topic: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?  (Read 8590 times)

jcaldeira

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Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« on: August 28, 2013, 12:12:30 AM »
Most of my fruit seeds are started in plain ol' top soil.  Not sterile.  Typically I spend the next few weeks pulling out all the familiar sprouting weeds while keeping an eye out for the unfamiliar.   I have an unfamiliar plant coming up in two bags where I had planted Jamaican Cherry seeds approximately two months earlier.   Is this a Jamaican Cherry seeding or a well-pampered weed?



The serrated edges of the leaves look similar to some web photos of mature leaves, but I'm not sure. 

Thanks,  John
PS:  I do plan to import some moss in the future for planting tiny seeds, but this is what I have now...
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Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2013, 12:22:10 AM »
Looks like a muntingia calabura to me
Tim

JoeP450

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2013, 12:28:17 AM »
There's only one way to find out.......bahaha

-joep450

fruitlovers

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2013, 12:58:34 AM »
Is that purple fuzz in center? Jamaican cherry doesn't have that. Looks like well pampered weed to me.
Oscar

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2013, 01:55:19 AM »
I don't have a plant to compare it to at the moment, but that doesn't look like the Jamaican Cherry I remember growing.  If it starts sending up suckers soon I may be proved wrong, but that looks like something in the Solanaceae to me-- I'm with Oscar.

   Kevin

BMc

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2013, 01:56:22 AM »
Leaves are too fat. Jamaican strawberry tree has thin leaves and is a pain in the neck by seed (mostly).

Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2013, 02:07:47 AM »
Ones I grew came up looking just like that like that.  Here's a seedling picture from online that looks just like mine and one shown here as well


Tim

fruitlovers

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2013, 02:22:03 AM »
Ones I grew came up looking just like that like that.  Here's a seedling picture from online that looks just like mine and one shown here as well


Your photo looks right, but looks different to me than John's photo. Maybe it's just quality of John's photo?
Oscar

Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2013, 02:25:15 AM »
Not everyone can take pictures like you Oscar  ;D
All my pictures are done by phone on the fly so I sick at macro shots
Tim

jcaldeira

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2013, 02:29:17 AM »
Ones I grew came up looking just like that like that.  Here's a seedling picture from online that looks just like mine and one shown here as well


Your photo looks right, but looks different to me than John's photo. Maybe it's just quality of John's photo?
Yeah, my photo sucks.  Tomorrow I'll see if I can borrow a real camera and take a better shot.
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Saltcayman

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2013, 02:38:04 AM »
Looks like a weed to me as well. Wait and se what the next set of leaves look like to be sure. They should be thinner and less serrated as compared to what I have.  Dave

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2013, 11:18:06 AM »
If that's Mutinguia calabura then it's both here in Acapulco (and guessing all tropical areas) that's a weed growing everywhere in the city,  it looks the birds love the fruit and have dispersed seeds everywhere, just like parota and mango fruits which are dispersed by bats.
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digigarden

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2013, 02:05:53 PM »
that does NOT look like muntigia calabura.

digigarden

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2013, 02:16:21 PM »
this is mine that got taller than a house in just 2 years.






Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2013, 02:38:32 PM »
You're comparing seedling to a grown tree, of course there's a big difference.
Seedlings lose their reddish hue at about 1/2 foot tall or more, I don't know if that's true with muntingia fruits of other colors
Tim

digigarden

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #15 on: August 28, 2013, 02:46:32 PM »
true but still i never seen it looking that red or with those leaves.

i'll put some pics that will help in a few.

digigarden

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #16 on: August 28, 2013, 03:04:37 PM »







that's a random muntigia seedling in the garden...the cuttings are from the parent.

even the new resprouts look green.

jcaldeira

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #17 on: August 28, 2013, 04:11:57 PM »
The two photographs below show the seedling in question from two different views.  The coin is approximately the size of a U.S. quarter dollar.





Your thoughts on whether it's a Jamaican Cherry or a weed?
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Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #18 on: August 28, 2013, 04:33:21 PM »
Yea... I'm 100% sure it's muntingia calabura.

digigarden - new growth on mature trees/cuttings don't have that color, it's only characteristic of very young seedlings.
Tim

Roy-Ind

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #19 on: August 29, 2013, 12:39:36 AM »
i am 100% sure it is not Jamaican cherry.
It is something different from Jamaican cherry
I have hundreds of seedlings below a big tree with thousands of fruits.

Roy

jcaldeira

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #20 on: August 29, 2013, 12:49:00 AM »
Hmmm.   Thanks for the opinions.  Tim, I hope you're right  :)   

I'll keep caring for the two of them until they get larger.  Then I'll post again for opinions.  I'm also watching to see if that plant pops up in any other of my bags.  So far, the only two are in my bags labeled Jamaican Cherry.
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Roy-Ind

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #21 on: August 29, 2013, 08:08:09 AM »
To me the seedling looks like of a stinging nettle or a wood nettle,most probably of the first one.

Roy

KarenRei

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #22 on: August 29, 2013, 08:12:33 AM »
To me the seedling looks like of a stinging nettle or a wood nettle,most probably of the first one.

Roy

Easy way to test that hypothesis...  ;)
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Tim

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #23 on: August 29, 2013, 11:26:34 AM »
Roy won't be available in Fiji for hands on testing ;D
Easy way to test that hypothesis...  ;)

I'm sure it's a muntingia John, so sure I'm willing to bet a grimal jabo seedling on it   lol
Tim

Roy-Ind

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Re: Jamaican Cherry or Weed?
« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2013, 03:15:48 AM »
I agree with digigarden and I do not agree with Tim
I take a challenge in identifying the stinging nettle(Urtica dioica), it is not jamaican cherry(Muntingia calabura),the photo posted by  jcaldeira
There will be no purple color hue on the jamaican cherry seedling.The leaves of it are more elongated and the shape of the leaves are not in zigzag fashion as that of stinging nettle(Stinging nettle plants are common in moist places).
This photo is of seedling of Muntingia calabura

This photo is of the branches of the same tree with a fruit under which the seedling is growing



If anyone wants seeds of Muntingia calabura,I will send ASAP

Roy
« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 03:19:34 AM by Roy-Ind »