Myrciaria dubia

Camu -Camu ( Myrciaria dubia ) is a shrub of the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae ), which was first classified in 1959. The type is in the western Amazon region, particularly in Peru, home.

In Brazil it is called the plant " Caçari " or " Araçá de agua ".

Description

Camu -Camu is a weißblühender shrub that is usually 3-6 feet tall. It blooms from July to September, and December to April wears red fruits that weigh 6-14 grams, about 3 cm in size and usually have 2 cores.

Use

About 12 kg of fruit can be harvested per plant. Noteworthy is its extremely high content of vitamin C, which accounts for about 2-3% of the fresh weight of the harvested fruit. So that they exceed the vitamin C content of orange to 40 times. Camu camu fruit is also very rich in iron.

In the Amazon region around Iquitos Camu -Camu is considered an aphrodisiac and is peeled consumed as fruit or as juice. Main importer of the fruit is Japan. In Europe one finds Camu -Camu, especially in powder form as a "dietary supplement ". Meanwhile, Camu -Camu is also grown in plantations. However, the South American cultivation projects are lagging behind the growing demand. This has led to increasing depletion was operated on wild plants. A consequence of this is that in some areas fish species are such as the Tambaqui, which feed on the fruits, disappeared.