Author Topic: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)  (Read 16238 times)

Miguel.pt

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Hello all

My "Ubajai" is fruiting for the first time now and I finally tasted my first fruit... and I liked it a lot!...

I had many doubts about this one because I've read several descriptions online stating this fruit had a flavor like a mixture of "uvaia and garlic"... others say "uvaia and onions"... even Helton on his book "Colecionando frutas-Vol.1" describes the taste as a mixture of uvaia+ pineapple+garlic... but to me it just reminded me of the Uvaia taste, although a very strong and concentrated uvaia taste (the tart/acid Uvaia, not the sweet one, which I don't have yet)...
I hope that at least those of you that have tasted uvaia could understand what I am saying here because it has a taste of it's own and I don't find it similar to any other "commercial" fruit...
Although it has a strong and different taste I do enjoyed it and I could eat some more fruits right away if they were ripe yet... so that's enough for me and definitely now this one is a "keeper" on my myrtaceae collection... and the fruits are "HUGE" for a Eugenia spp. and very beautiful too... I can see a great future on this species with just some selection, at least for the home grower because the skin is so thin that it should not travel very far...
In fact this is another fruit that I consider is not well documented (in terms of photos) on the Lorenzi's blue book... there the fruits seem white inside and seem to have a hollow space around the seed... maybe the Lorenzi's fruits were not fully ripe yet (?)... my fruits were of a most beautiful yellow color and there was no cavity around the seed which was very small in effect, so the flesh to seed ratio is also a very good characteristic on this fruit...
I have found my experience much closer to that reported on the "Spanish language" article "ubajai.pdf" and I do agree with the author when he says that is very difficult to discuss "tastes" and for sure there are people who love it and people who don't... I'm glad to be on the "loving group"!...you can find this article here: www.guayubira.org.uy/monte/Ubajai.pdf‎

Other very important thing for me on this species is that it seems hardy to at least the 9a climate (usually if it grows at Uruguay it means 9a hardy to me)...although the tree that fruited is still on my GH for now, and the trees outside have not flowered yet (all from the same batch of seeds)... in fact this tree that fruited first was kept inside the GH because from the beginning it showed some differences to all the others on the same seed batch... leaves are greener and slender, apparently less furred, while all others have "greyish/blueish" furred leaves, more like the leaves photoed on the Lorenzi's book... other difference is that all others trees born from the same seed batch exhibited a totally deciduous behavior during winter (even one inside the GH) and this one don't... so I just don't know if this is just the normal variations typical of the Eugenia family or something else... just in case I am trying to reproduce this one before testing it outside and risking to freeze it...
 
There is still another fruit on my tree, that in fact seems even bigger than this first one and it should ripe soon... I'm thinking to let this one overripe a little bit just to see if I can detect the strong odor that is often described online also...

Are there other opinions on this fruit out there?
 
Enjoy the photos!






« Last Edit: June 04, 2013, 06:57:57 PM by Miguel.pt »

Ethan

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2013, 06:01:44 PM »
Wow Miguel, what great photos and description of the fruit.  I have a couple seedlings and believe they are the blueish grey leaved type.  Perhaps you are holding gold in your hand there, a select cv. of ubajai?  Congratulations on the fruits and the quality of them too.

luc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2013, 06:39:05 PM »
Miguel , good for you !
In general I like uvaia ,  I have acid and sweet  , have no problem with onions and certainly not with garlic . But....if you read my mail in another post about Ubajai I mentioned I would give it another year , they are fruiting again now not ripe yet , so , since I can use the space this tree may or not be scratched from my inventory ....
I must say it is a good producer , lots of fruit ...
Luc Vleeracker
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luc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2013, 06:41:22 PM »
I will take a pic of the leaves to compare with those you have , Ethan and Miguel .
Luc Vleeracker
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BMc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2013, 07:51:00 PM »
I have two. Both from same source. Each has different leaves and habit. After tasting fruit from an established tree I had them both earmarked for the mulch pile, but I will give them a few years fruiting first. To me the old tree's fruits tasted of weak, watery garlic, without any hints of anything else. To hear your description is heartening.  ;D The larger woolly-leaved one flowered last season and should fruit in the coming spring/summer.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2013, 07:54:06 PM by BMc »

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2013, 08:59:21 PM »
I have a 25 gal eugenia myrcianthes .... I want to sell / trade it.
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ScottR

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2013, 12:15:10 AM »
Thanks Miguel,for posting your observations of this fruit, I have a seedling but hasn't set fruit yet! How old is your tree?

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2013, 05:27:59 AM »
Great and thorough description and photos Miguel! Comes in handy because i have a few ubajai plants i'm getting ready to put in the ground, and now i may add a few extras. Mine i think all have the bluish tinged leaves. Good to know about the variations. I wonder how well this plant will fruit in the tropics? It seems to be real happy here so far.
Are these plants already fruiting in Florida? Anybody tasted them there? I know that the Fullerton Arboretum in S. California has some.
Oscar

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2013, 10:00:51 AM »
Oscar,

my friend has a fruiting tree in Orlando.

my tree flowers, but hasn't set fruit yet.

it's quite cold hearty, being totally deciduous.

I haven't tasted the fruits yet though.

Miguel,

thanks for sharing the excellent info!
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luc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2013, 03:58:47 PM »
OK , took a look at the tree and noticed several ripe fruits ( forgot the camera , so no pics today )

I kinda changed my mind about giving it the axe even tough this fruit is not in my top ten , just like BMc said watery ( I would say very juicy ) with slight garlic flavor . Not offensive at all , will have to get used to the taste , I do think it tastes better now than last years fruit . The seeds were loose , not clinging to the flesh . Some fruits were round other pear shaped . Did not notice a blueish tint on the leaves but will take a closer look with the ladder .
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Miguel.pt

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2013, 06:12:54 PM »
Hello again

Sorry for my late replies but it's not easy to keep an ongoing conversation with some 5 or more hours of "jet lag" between Portugal and the rest of you guys. Here are the answers to your questions:

To ScottR:
All my plants of Ubajai are from the same seed batch received from Helton on October 2007, so they have 5 years by now... just one of them flowered and fruited for the first time now... just two fruits tough... the one on the previous photos and an even bigger one that is still on the tree and that should ripen during next days...

to Luc:
My seeds were not loose...I think you still can see some fibers attached to the seed on the photo... I will try to take a photo of the inside of the other fruit when it ripens...if the birds don't get there first!... I'm letting it overripe to see if I can sense some strange odor (like the one reported on the Uruguayan article) because I didn't noted nothing wrong with the odor of my first fruit.

I took a photo of the leaves to show you the differences; the 2 leaves on the left are from the tree that fruited, and the one on the right is from the other Ubajai with the bluish tinged leaves (not really noticeable now but the blue tinge is very evident when the leaves are younger)


This difference on the leaves shape, color and general aspect was evident right from the beginning and in fact I always treated the tree with the slender/greener leaves better than all the others because it was prettier, and diferent... don't know if this is the reason why it fruited first... and I need now the get one of the others to fruit to see if there is some noticeable difference on the fruits also...

Regarding the taste of "garlic" on these species former classified as "Hexaclamys spp." I have one that really tastes like garlic...  seeds arrived also on the same package and if fruited last year for the first time... it arrived labelled as Hexaclamys tomentosa, and now I believe Helton calls it Eugenia anomala... this one is pure "garlic"!... last year photos next:




The fruit shape and color is very similar to the ones of the Ubajai that fruited this year, but on this Hexaclamys tomentosa the leaves are much more slender and the tree habit is more "Bushy"... Is it possible that I have an hybrid between these two Hexaclamys spp. ???

huertasurbanas

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2013, 06:58:35 PM »
Very different leaves, Miguel, I bet the fruits will be different too.

What do you think? This Ubajay leaf resembles what of yours?



Miguel.pt

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2013, 07:23:25 PM »
hello huertas...

is difficult to say without other to compare but I would say that it resembles the grey/blueish one... in general shape and color also... the slender ones are also greener and yours seem a more pallid green...
Don't know if you have the Lorenzi's blue book but the pictures on Lorenzi's book seem the blueish type to me... but the leaves on the Uruguayan article seem more greener and slender like mine... and in fact my fruits seem also closer to those from Uruguay then to those from Lorenzi's book... maybe there are two races of Ubajai?

huertasurbanas

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #13 on: June 05, 2013, 07:29:10 AM »
I do not know if there are two varieties of Ubajay or two species, but in Uruguay they didnt went into production yet because they are selecting the best.

I found the first photo of my ubajay: 26 feb 2013

It came from Misiones after 8 days in total darkness due to a problem with transportation, then lost almost all leaves, perhaps because it is not perennial? That leaves look better:






luc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2013, 11:28:47 AM »
Thanks Miguel,for posting your observations of this fruit, I have a seedling but hasn't set fruit yet! How old is your tree?

Scott , mine started fruiting at 7 years from seed .
Luc Vleeracker
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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #15 on: June 05, 2013, 02:27:16 PM »
I also want to add that these seeds have a think and hard coat and need scarification for faster germination .
Luc Vleeracker
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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #16 on: June 05, 2013, 03:04:13 PM »
Huertas...your plant looks totally different than mine.  The leaves on yours have no fuzz.  It looks more like E. pyriformis.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2013, 06:02:04 PM by ASaffron »
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Miguel.pt

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #17 on: June 05, 2013, 05:21:48 PM »
I do not know if there are two varieties of Ubajay or two species, but in Uruguay they didnt went into production yet because they are selecting the best.

I found the first photo of my ubajay: 26 feb 2013

It came from Misiones after 8 days in total darkness due to a problem with transportation, then lost almost all leaves, perhaps because it is not perennial? That leaves look better:




Now your leaves look much more slender and greener... even more than mine!... maybe your fruit will be better also!... there's hope!


huertasurbanas

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #19 on: June 06, 2013, 03:36:20 PM »
Huertas...your plant looks totally different than mine.  The leaves on yours have no fuzz.  It looks more like E. pyriformis.

Now that I think it a bit more... maybe the seller could be wrong? In Argentina perhaps Ubajay means uvaia... (eugenia pyriformis)? I know you usually call the Uvaia iguajay but not Ubajay ...


anyway, my Uvaia (largest tree, 1.8m in height) is different, I think ...
leaves are thinner and elongated


this is my uvaia (eugenia pyriformis):

http://www.huertasurbanas.com/2012/12/16/uvaia-floreciendo-nuevamente/sam_1366/


http://www.huertasurbanas.com/tag/uvaia/

luc

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #20 on: June 06, 2013, 07:57:02 PM »
Here a pic of the leaves and unripe fruit of mine .

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Miguel.pt

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #21 on: June 12, 2013, 05:27:17 PM »
Hello again.

As promised here are the photos and comments on my second fruit of Ubajai… this fruit was left to fully ripen on the tree and the purpose was to check the “strange and repulsive odor”, that some reported on the overripe fruits of this species.

This fruit fell of the tree by itself, so no doubt it was properly ripe and was even a little bit bruised, probably from the fall…

And I’m glad to report that I enjoy the smell of it too!
The smell was not very intense, nothing like guavas that can fill an entire room with the scent… this one you have to take it close to your nose to properly feel it… I agree that we can call it a “strange” smell because there is nothing like it, but I will never consider it repulsive… in fact I returned home sniffing on the fruit all the way back... it has an addictive smell!

Here are the photos of this “big boy”:







This one had 3 seeds, and in fact there is a space between seeds and flesh but mine seem to have a whitish spongy / fibry material around the seeds that occupies most of this hollow space… the flesh is more than 1cm thick, "canary yellow" and extremely juicy… and the seeds seem to have a thick/hard woody coat as Luc reported earlier... to me they resembled the seeds of some palms... this woody coat doesn't seem very common on myrtaceae seeds (?) but I didn't scarify or did any other pre-treatment to the seeds received from Brazil and 100% sprouted as far as I can remember...



After all this photo-shooting the fruit was divided and kindly offered to the public at home... and the results are:



Me and my younger boy (08 years old) appreciated it... my son specially appreciated the juice and he sucked all of it from the flesh leaving only the fibers..
My wife and my older son (12 yo) didn't liked it... the general opinion was "too sour"... but both recognized that the smell was good!
 
So it's clear this fruit will not please everybody's tastes... but all in all I still see more "pros" than "cons"!...
and I can see some great things coming out of here on the future with just a little bit of added sugar (juices, smoothies, etc)... hopefully this experience will continue next years!
 
But my big doubt remains:
Are all Ubajai fruits like this?... can someone give other opinions?... Luc, can you post photos of your ripe fruits cut in half just to compare with mine?
 
I went to look again to the photos on Lorenzi's book and no doubt there are many differences... Were the Lorenzi's fruits just smaller and under-ripe and can that explain all the differences?... questions remain!

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2013, 06:00:55 PM »
Thanks Miguel for great report and photos, as usual. The ubajay fruit is a lot bigger than i expected. For some reason this fruit is still quite rare in USA. Odd because it is a fruit that is hardy and especially suited to Southern California and northern and central Florida, and probably large part of Texas, Louisiana, etc. There are some trees of it in Fullerton arboretum in S. California, but don't know how well they fruit there? They weren't fruiting at the time i visited.
Oscar

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #23 on: June 12, 2013, 06:22:35 PM »
Nice large fruit, the pulp to seed ratio looks excellent. Thanks for the fruit report.
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

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Re: First taste of Ubajai (Eugenia myrcianthes or Hexaclamys edulis)
« Reply #24 on: June 12, 2013, 07:49:55 PM »
Cut open, the fruit reminds me of a loquat, with the seed sack, shape and colour!