first fruit from Eugenia spp. "aff Arvensis"

[brian]

I got this tree as a small seedling about two years ago from a forum member.  It set one fruit this summer and still has a ton of flowers so it might make more.  I just picked it this morning, I believe it was fully ripe as the fruit separated from the tree with very little effort.  Nice color, decent flesh to seed ratio, seed easily separates from the fruit though it has a slight web around it (easy to peel off).  Unfortunately it didn't taste very good - bland, little sweetness, and a slight bitter taste.  Hopefully this one isn't representative, I know early fruits can be deceptive.  The tree is nice looking, and the fruit shape seems to match the pictures on BellamyTrees where I assume it was sourced from though I'm not positive.  My fruit is a darker purple than those photos.

Here's the BellamyTrees link and description:
https://www.bellamytrees.com/sold-out-species/p/eugenia-aff-arvensis-hyper-rare
Seeds were imported from Argentina. This is a very rare Eugenia discovered this year. The tree gets around 1.8 meters in height, making it great for container growers. The fruit is reported to taste AMAZING! It is said to taste like a mix of E. uniflora and E. involucrata. These were sourced from Marcos, he calls them hyper rare. Seeds will be shipped in humid vermiculite.

[roblack]

Thanks for the report! Lots of unknowns in our eugenia collections; finally getting some info on these different species is great. I agree, eugenias can be deceptive in their first fruitings.

2 e. aff arvensis are growing on our back porch, but much smaller than yours. Someone told me they were too inpatient to grow rare fruit and wait; that's one reason to have a zillion plants.

[K-Rimes]

Thanks for the report, really good size fruit there. It appeared much smaller in the photos that were used to sell the plant. I have had a few tiny seedlings of this, but they all died on me.

Hopefully it improves on subsequent fruitings.

[Jaboticaba45]

Thanks for the report Brian!
I look forward to see how it tastes on later fruitings when the fruit settles out.

[SHV]

Yeah, hopefully it improves with maturity.  I got my first grumichamas this year and I was very disappointed with the fruit quality.  Several levels below a good CORG.  I’m attributing it to being first time fruiting. 
That said, the aff Arvensis better step up its game big time if it’s reported to taste “Amazing!” 

[Alippincott]

I got mine from Marcos around the same time. I have 3 growing in ground. No fruit yet, but I will update here when I try them. Hope they taste alright! Your plant is looking healthier than mine! Your picture of the fruit definitely looks different than the ones he posted.

[shpaz]

your plant looks very healthy! I hope the taste improves with time.